For this Installment of Media Catchphrase Bingo... Inflection Point

Wikipedia tells me that this is a diagram of an inflection point.

I'm not sure if you knew this, but we are at a point. And not just any point. We are, quite clearly, at an...

INFLECTION POINT

I mean, just look at the markets!

          A rise in stocks since the late December lows, a flat yield curve and U.S. China trade 

          negotiations are creating an inflection point for the market.

And don't forget about oil. 

          Is US oil storage now at an inflection point? [Spoiler: Yes]

Or the streaming industry. 

          Netflix is a battleground stock. The streaming giant's meteoric rise has long elicited a 

          passionate discussion across the investment community from both sides of the bull-bear coin.

          The company has also reached an inflection point. 

But really, it's all about politics.   

          [Michael Cohen’s testimony] was a made-for-TV drama in the middle of a television 

          presidency, an inflection point that drove home how unusual this moment is—in its 

          sordidness and absurdity and lawlessness. 

Yep, politics. 

          The wall issue and Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency may represent an 

          important inflection point for his presidency.

It seems I'm not the only one noticing the proliferation of points that inflect.

Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Ben Zimmer offers this brief history of this term, from its mathematical origins to its current use in American culture. 

He explains...

          In politics and business, an "inflection point" has come to signify a time of dramatic change. 

          The catch-phrase is typically delivered with a portentous air that makes it sound far more

          important than a mere "turning point."

So to say "inflection point" is to add a bit of rhetorical spice to a turnaround stew.

I think I need to give this a try. We just passed midterms--so, that's a grading inflection point. I think I'm halfway into my career. Profession inflection point? Sure. The next time I run a marathon, I think I'll call 13.1 miles the "inflection marker."

Oh the potential! 

But is "inflection point" as a catchphrase at an inflection point?

via GIPHY