Point of no return
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The point of no return is the point beyond which someone, or some group of people, must continue on their current course of action. Either they physically cannot turn back, or doing so would be prohibitively expensive or dangerous.
A particular irreversible action (e.g. setting off an explosion, or signing a contract) can be a point of no return, but the point of no return can also be a calculated point during a continuous action (such as in aviation).
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[edit] Origins
The term PNR, point of no return originated as a technical term in air navigation to refer to the point on a flight at which, due to fuel consumption, a plane is no longer capable of returning to its airfield of origin. After passing the point of no return, the plane has no option but to continue to some other destination. In this sense, the phrase implies an irrevocable commitment. Another aviation use is the point during the takeoff roll when there is no longer enough runway ahead of the aircraft to safely stop; at this point the aircraft is committed to take off.
(It may be noted that the PNR is, for non-stop flights, beyond the half-way (more exactly, the "equitime") point, since airplanes carry spare fuel, and since later in a flight the aircraft carries less fuel. For example, on a 2000-mile flight, should the tanks have enough fuel for a 3000-mile flight, the half-way point would be at 1000 miles, but the PNR would be more than 1500 miles.)
Another noteworthy point is that PNR is not to be confused with Passenger Name Record, a computer-generated code assigned for internal use within a travel agency to locate a traveler's record (usually flight information) in a CRS more quickly; thus making Passenger Name Record a much more frequently used definition.
In mountain aviation, the phrase is sometimes used in a completely different way to refer to the point at which the grade of the terrain "outclimbs" the aircraft-- that is, the point at which a crash is inevitable, being a parallel in common usage. The phrase can also be used to mean inevitable disaster.
In its metaphorical sense, passing the point of no return can be used synonymously with crossing the Rubicon — taking a course of action with significant and irreversible consequences.
The use of crossing the Rubicon derives from the crossing of the river Rubicon by Julius Caesar in 49 BC, who thereby violated Roman law and rendered armed conflict inevitable. As Caesar said at the time: "alea iacta est" ("the die is cast").
[edit] Synonyms
There are a number of phrases that bear a similar or related meaning.
- Crossing the Rubicon is a metaphor for deliberately proceeding past a point of no return. The phrase originates with Julius Caesar's invasion of Ancient Rome when, on January 10, 49 BC, he led his army across the Rubicon river in violation of law, hence making conflict inevitable. Therefore the term "the Rubicon" is a used as a synonym to the "point of no return".
- Alea iacta est
- Burning bridges. The expression is derived from the ancient military tactics that if one were to burn down a bridge after crossing it, one could not cross the bridge back to retreat.
- Burning boats, a variation of burning one's bridges. The Moor commander Tariq bin Ziyad, upon setting foot on the Iberian peninsula in 711, ordered their ships to be burnt, so that they had no choice but thrust forward and fight with their enemy.
- "Break the woks and sink the boats(破釜沉舟)", an ancient Chinese saying.
- Fait accompli - "An accomplished fact;" A term of French origin meaning an irrevesible deed.
[edit] False Rubicons
In human behaviour, individual as well as collective decision-making, point of no return have become a popular metaphor denoting a stage in an undertaking, project or the like, where the person or people involved are unwilling to stop and think about what they are doing. Instead, they hasten to continue on their chosen course of action while ignoring counter-arguments or evidence that would suggest a change. This process of self-deception, in which a "false" point of no return is assumed. Typically it is only at a later stage, that a "real" point of no return and irrevocable commitment to the cause in question will arise.
The flaw in the analogy concerns the inevitability of having to go on in the same direction. Whereas the pilot really has no sensible alternative to carrying on, generally humans at critical points in their lives are still free agents and thus do have the power to change their course of action. If they decide not to do it, it may be because they are afraid of doing it and are trying to avoid exposure, criticism or ridicule. If one turns back to where one started, one admits that most of the things one has been doing since departing have either been wrong, too difficult or too terrifying to proceed with. Accordingly, changing one's mind and one's course of action is the more difficult of the two options, even when that would be the better decision. What is more, the farther one has already proceeded, the more difficult it is to return. This phenomenon leads many people to believe that for them, a complete change of course is impossible.
However, although this definition isolates and highlights the human tendency to continue onward in the face of accumulating jeopardy, there is also an antithesis to the case in that people alone or as groups will tend to continue to repeat a mode of action or proceed without changing direction only when the perceived cost of altering course outweighs the benefit of implementing a change. The proviso to the main clause is that the cost of implementing fundamental change does not always or even usually come for free.
Ultimately humans will tend to adopt whatever course of action they perceive will benefit them or the causes they identify themselves through.
[edit] Other uses
In relation to black holes, the point of no return refers to the point at which nothing can escape the supreme gravitational pull of the black hole.
[edit] Literature: Drama
In The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, "Point of No Return" is the title of a song in the final act, first sung by the Phantom and Christine in an Opera. In this version of the song, it refers to the inevibility of the sexual relationship between the characters Christine and the Phantom (in disguise) are playing. Later, the song is reprised by the Phantom as he forces Christine to choose between loving him or having Raoul, her real love, killed.
[edit] Music: Songs
"Point of No Return" has been the theme or title of many recorded songs. Artists recording songs entitled "Point of No Return" include Immortal Technique, Exposé, Nu Shooz, Duran Duran, VNV Nation, The Smithereens, Kansas, Elvis Costello, Napalm Death, Rage, The Stylistics and many others. A song in the musical The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical) is also entitle The Point of No Return.
On her 2005 album Extraordinary Machine, singer Fiona Apple has a song titled "Better Version of Me" which opens with the line "The nickle dropped when I was on/my way [beyond the Rubicon]."
[edit] Computer and video games
Some video games contain a "final area" in which the player(s) cannot revisit previous areas of the game once the boundary is crossed. Final areas usually contain a final boss, final dungeon (often capped by a final boss or final series of bosses), or some similarily game-ending encounter. Attempting to cross such a boundary is usually met with a warning informing the player. Such instances of a point of no return typically occur in single-player role-playing games, such as "EarthBound" and "Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time".
