# point of no return (threshold)

*Ordinarily means:* a moment after which things cannot go back to how they were before.

A parameter has crossed a wall where the window for reversal ends, and the self-model of the thing no longer includes the state it was in.

- Computed level: L15 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: EmergenceLexicon

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [parameter](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-parameter.condition), [wall](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-wall.range-end), [window](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-window.range), [self-model](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-self-model.reflexive), [state](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-state.condition)

**Through:** A parameter has crossed a wall where the window for reversal ends, and the self-model of the thing no longer includes the state it was in.

**Novel properties:**
- The thing's self-model no longer includes its previous state.
- The parameter has moved beyond a point where reversal is possible within the existing window.

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-point-of-no-return.threshold*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-point-of-no-return.threshold.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*