While surfing the net a few weeks ago I came across an interesting subject called “Steampunk”. Now because the internet is so large it is not uncommon to run across various subcultures, but I found Steampunk to be one of the most interesting ones I have seen in awhile.

Steampunk originally started out as a subgenre of fantasy and speculative fiction written about in books and comics during the 1980s-1990s. They were works of fiction that painted pictures of future worlds that relied on old fashioned “steam” technology. A good example that comes to mind is the Myst series of videos games.

Lots of written works, movies and games have based concepts and visuals off of the Steampunk mythos. As Steampunk’s popularity grew it started to transverse the gap between fiction and reality. While this has mainly been in the form of art and style, in some cases it has been applied as an actual engineering style by certain groups.

A recent example of Steampunk artwork that mixes the “old” and the “new” is the Telectroscope, designed and built by artist “Paul St George”. It consists of two giant telescopes of lens and mirrors that allow people in London and New York to interact with each other in real time via a fiber optic connection.

However some of the most interesting implementations of the Steampunk style have been homebrew inventions, and reverse engineering people have created with the aesthetic in mind. Some great examples of this can be seen in YouTube videos where people have created some really interesting devices throwing conventional technology to the wind.

It is interesting to hear people say how history repeats itself. This is very true in many aspects that we see from day to day. Steampunk is very interesting in that it utilizes antique methods of engineering to mirror modern technology with a neo-Victorian twist.

Check out the wikipedia entry on Steampunk for some incredibly interesting background information and resources.