No-win situation
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| - | + | A '''no-win situation''', also called a "'''lose-lose'''" situation, is one where a person has choices, but no choice leads to a net gain. For example, if an executioner offers the condemned the choice of dying by being hanged, shot, or poisoned, since all choices lead to death, the condemned is in a no-win situation. This bleak situation gives the chooser little room: whatever choice is made, the person making it will lose their life. | |
| - | A '''Hobson's choice''' is a [[free choice]] in which only one option is offered. As a person may refuse to take that option, the choice is therefore between taking the option or not; "take it or leave it". The phrase is said to originate from [[Thomas Hobson]] (1544–1631), a livery stable owner at [[Cambridge|Cambridge, England]]. To rotate the use of his horses he offered customers the choice of either taking the horse in the stall nearest the door or taking none at all. | + | |
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| - | [[Cambridge Guildhall]] has a donated portrait of Thomas Hobson. A plaque underneath the painting describes in a little detail how his livery came to be and the origin of the phrase. To add to the above, he had an extensive stable of some 40 horses and therefore there appeared to be a wide choice when in fact there was simply the choice described above. | + | |
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| - | ''Hobson's choice'' is different from: | + | |
| - | * a choice between or among limited options | + | |
| - | * [[Blackmail]] and [[extortion]]—the choice between paying money (or some non-monetary good or deed) and suffering an unpleasant action | + | |
| - | * [[False dilemma]]—only two choices are considered, when in fact there are others | + | |
| - | * [[Catch-22 (logic)|Catch-22]], [[Morton's Fork]], and a [[double bind]]—choices yield equivalent, often undesirable, results. | + | |
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| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| - | *[[Buridan's ass]] | + | * [[Catch-22 (logic)]] |
| - | *[[Catch-22 (logic)|Catch-22]] | + | * [[Cornelian dilemma]] |
| - | *[[Dilemma]] | + | * [[Double bind]] |
| - | *[[Double bind]] | + | * [[Kobayashi Maru]] |
| - | *[[Morton's Fork]] | + | * [[Morton's fork]] |
| - | *[[No-win situation]] | + | * [[Pyrrhic victory]] |
| - | *[[Paradox]]es | + | * [[Winner's curse]] |
| - | *[[Sophie's Choice]] | + | * [[Win-win game]] |
| - | *[[Zugzwang]] | + | |
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A no-win situation, also called a "lose-lose" situation, is one where a person has choices, but no choice leads to a net gain. For example, if an executioner offers the condemned the choice of dying by being hanged, shot, or poisoned, since all choices lead to death, the condemned is in a no-win situation. This bleak situation gives the chooser little room: whatever choice is made, the person making it will lose their life.
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See also
- Catch-22 (logic)
- Cornelian dilemma
- Double bind
- Kobayashi Maru
- Morton's fork
- Pyrrhic victory
- Winner's curse
- Win-win game
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "No-win situation" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
