Scientific principle about major events

[Brr3188]

Hey everyone,

I'm writing a paper about major events/turning points and wanted to cite a scientific principle. Does anyone know if there is a physics (or any scientific) principal that refers to major turning points or the specific steps that lead to a certain outcome?

Thanks so much!

 

[Choppy]

Do you mean like a "tipping point?"

 

[Brr3188]

Tipping point is a good one, though I was hoping for something more scientific. Do you think hysteresis would work as well? Saying that a path forward is based on certain actions in the past.

 

[anorlunda]

If you let a stream of sand hit the floor, it piles up in a cone shape, eventually it gets so high that there is an abrupt landslide. I may be wrong but I think the word they use for the abrupt slide is catastrophe. They have a branch of math called catastrophe theory.

[/PLAIN]
noun
1.
a sudden and widespread disaster:
the catastrophe of war.
2.
any misfortune, mishap, or failure; fiasco:
The play was so poor our whole evening was acatastrophe.
3.
a final event or conclusion, usually an unfortunateone; a disastrous end:
the great catastrophe of the Old South atAppomattox.
4.
(in a drama) the point at which the circumstancesovercome the central motive, introducing theclose or conclusion; dénouement.
Compare catastasis, epitasis, protasis.
5.
Geology. a sudden, violent disturbance, especiallyof a part of the surface of the earth; cataclysm.
6.
Also called catastrophe function. Mathematics.any of the mathematical functions that describethe discontinuities that are treated in catastrophe theory.

 

[Ygggdrasil]

Perhaps you could take the idea of punctuated equilibria from evolutionary biology.

You could also use the term paradigm shift from Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions.

Path dependence is a good term to use to describe how actions in the past can constrain present decisions.

 

[zoobyshoe]

'Threshold'?

 

[BillTre]

How about Transitions as in: The Major Transitions in Evolution?

 

[Brr3188]

These are all great, thanks everyone!