Does the "catch" here refer to "a drawback or difficulty that is not readily evident"?

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Eliminating the Loopholes

Loophole #1

To bolster his hypothesis, Vilenkin has studied other model universes, eliminating loopholes that contradict the idea of a clear-cut cosmic debut. In a 2012 paper with Tufts graduate student Audrey Mithani, Vilenkin examined the “cyclic” universe investigated by physicists Paul Steinhardt of Princeton University and Neil Turok, now at the Perimeter Institute.

In this model, there is neither a single Big Bang nor a single beginning. Instead, the universe continually goes through oscillating cycles of expansion, contraction, collapse and expansion anew. The catch is that the cyclic universe runs into the second law of thermodynamics, which says the entropy, or disorder, of a closed system will inevitably increase over time.

More:
http://discovermagazine.com/2013/september/13-starting-point

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@oristarA,

Yes.

cf. the title of the Heller novel, "Catch 22"

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@McTag,

McTag wrote:

Yes.

cf. the title of the Heller novel, "Catch 22"

Thanks.
What doe 22 mean there?
Catch-22 is the masterpiece of Joseph Heller, who is the American writer of "black humor" in the 20th century.
I've partly checked wiki and it says:

Quote:

Strictly speaking, a "Catch-22" is "a problematic situation for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem or by a rule."[13] For example, losing something is typically a conventional problem; to solve it, one looks for the lost item until one finds it. But if the thing lost is one's glasses, one can't see to look for them - a Catch-22. A few more examples: If the lights are out in a room, one can't see to find the light switch. If one locks one's keys in one's car, it is not possible to unlock the car to retrieve them. If one lacks work experience, one cannot get a job to gain experience. If one doesn't have money, one can't invest to make money. The term "Catch-22" is also used more broadly to mean a tricky problem or a no-win or absurd situation.

But what does 22 mean remains unknown to me.

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@oristarA,

Heller imagined the US military authorities "building-in" a series of snags to prevent servicemen, in this case, obtaining official leave from active service.
It's part of the joke, imagining that there were 21 "catches" before the one discussed in the book, and presumably more later.

Now the phrase "Catch 22" has found its way into the mainstream language, to denote an over-riding problem with any proposed course of action.
Another example: in this country, a homeless person might want to get a job to earn some money so that he can afford to pay rent on an apartment. But the job application asks him for a home address. He hasn't got that, and he can't get it without the earnings from the job. That's a typical Catch 22 situation.

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@oristarA,

Quote:

what does 22 mean

Probably arbitrary, Ori. As "21" might imply adulthood. Now "23" might have been almost as random; but my Better Half, who is much smarter than I, says "24" might suggest "almost 25"

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Does the "catch" here refer to "a drawback or difficulty that is not readily evident"?

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