A Jonbar Hinge is a science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 concept

Concept

The word concept is used in ordinary language as well as in almost all academic disciplines. Particularly in philosophy, psychology and cognitive sciences the term is much used and much discussed. WordNet defines concept: "conception, construct ". However, the meaning of the term concept is much...

 derived from the Jack Williamson

Jack Williamson

John Stewart Williamson , who wrote as Jack Williamson was a U.S. writer often referred to as the "Dean of Science Fiction" following the death in 1988 of Robert A...

 novel The Legion of Time

The Legion of Time

The Legion of Time is a collection of two science-fiction novels by the American writer Jack Williamson. It was first published by Fantasy Press in 1952 in an edition of 4,604 copies...

. Specifically it comes from the short story John Barr, when picking up one of two objects (a magnet and a pebble) is a major turning point in history: choosing one will lead to a utopia

Utopia

Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...

n civilization named Jonbar, while the other to the tyranny of the state of Gyronchi.

Background

Jonbar hinges often refer to small non-descript events that had an important effect on history, but because of time travel

Time travel

Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...

 the outcome of the choice or event was changed leading to a different future or an alternate history. It can, however, refer to any kind of change in history without having to deal with time travel, as Paul Di Filippo

Paul Di Filippo

Paul Di Filippo is an American science fiction writer. He has been published in Postscripts...

 used the term when reviewing S. M. Stirling

S. M. Stirling

Stephen Michael Stirling is a French-born Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author. Stirling is probably best known for his Draka series of alternate history novels and the more recent time travel/alternate history Nantucket series and Emberverse series.-Personal:Stirling was born on...

's In the Courts of the Crimson Kings

In the Courts of the Crimson Kings

In the Courts of the Crimson Kings is a 2008 alternate history, science fiction novel by American writer S. M. Stirling.-Plot introduction:...

. In Michael Chabon

Michael Chabon

Michael Chabon born May 24, 1963) is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation", according to The Virginia Quarterly Review....

's The Yiddish Policemen's Union

The Yiddish Policemen's Union

The Yiddish Policemen's Union is a 2007 novel by American author Michael Chabon. The novel is a detective story set in an alternative history version of the present day, based on the premise that during World War II, a temporary settlement for Jewish refugees was established in Sitka, Alaska, in...

the jonbar hinge was the death of the main opponent to the King-Havenner Bill

Slattery Report

The Slattery Report, officially titled "The Problem of Alaskan Development,” was produced by the United States Department of the Interior under Secretary Harold L. Ickes in 1939–40. It was named after Undersecretary of the Interior Harry A. Slattery...

, which if passed would have allowed Jewish refugees to settle in Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

. The term is also used when describing an important upcoming event or decision humanity will have to make in the future.

Jonbar Hinges are often the subject of professional, journalistic, and amateur speculation.

See also

• Alien space bats
  Alien space bats
  Alien space bats is a neologism for plot devices used in alternate history to create a point of divergence that would otherwise be implausible.-Definition:...
  
  
• Counterfactual history
• Butterfly effect
  Butterfly effect
  In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions; where a small change at one place in a nonlinear system can result in large differences to a later state...
  
  
• Point of divergence
  Point of divergence
  In discussion of counterfactual history, a divergence point , also referred to as a departure point or point of divergence , is a historical event with two possible postulated outcomes...