Catch-22 by Joseph Heller met with mixed reviews when it was published in 1961. Some hailed the book as one of the greatest works to be published in the post-World War II era. Others were not quite so enthusiastic.

Catch-22 is about an Air Force captain's exploits and experiences trying to stay alive during World War II. The novel introduced the public to a form of circular reasoning called "Catch-22," associated in the book with the madness and horror of war experienced by the protagonist, Yossarian. The book sold exceedingly well and has since established itself as one of the most important books of the 20th century.

Let's say you're a twelve-year old kid with thick glasses and a love of all things Guitar Hero (and, okay, we admit it, we're totally that kid, except that we're in our twenties. We're counting the days until we become real-world Legends of Rock).

Anyway, you're walking to school one morning and along comes this giant fifteen-year old bearing down on you. And he's a smart kid, but maybe he's hating life. So he decides to take his rage out on you: he grabs you and yells, "Gimme your money!"

Your stomach sinks: this guy's roughly a thousand pounds heavier than you, and you haven't been in a fight since you were in kindergarten and your younger sister took your Pikachu toy (and that was mostly hair-pulling). Still, you manage to protest, "Please don't take my money! I've been saving up for Guitar Hero World Tour." After all, you like to live dangerously.

The kid stops for a second, and then nods. He says seriously, "Okay, you said no, and I would hate to take the money from you. But you know what?" – this is where he shakes you a little for emphasis – "I'm going to give you the opportunity to give it to me." And because you value all of your bones in their unbroken condition, you promptly offer up the cash. See? He didn't take it from you. You gave it to him. No one can call the kid a thief. Except, of course, that this logic is ridiculous. On paper, it seems like maybe you have a choice in this situation. Really, though, everything has been stacked against you from the start. He says he's not going to take your money, but he'll accept it if you give it to him. But if you don't give it to him, he'll beat you up and take it anyway. This guy's giving you what looks like a choice, but whatever you do, he'll get what he wants out of it anyway: your money. You're caught in a Catch-22. There's a reason that Joseph Heller's novel, Catch-22 has become a catchphrase for any double-bind in which you seem to have choices but are, in fact, doomed from the start. He may be talking about the specific case of out-of-control military bureaucracy, but the logic he describes will be familiar to anyone who's dealt with powerful bad guys. To paraphrase Heller himself, Catch-22 is what gives bullies (either bureaucratic or freelance) the right to do what we can't stop them from doing anyway. And we owe Heller a debt of gratitude for stating so clearly what is so wrong about the logic of that creep who stole our Guitar Hero money.