Imagine a world in which the concept of electricity was never fully understood, where the steam engine reigned supreme, and the electrical circuit was a pipe dream. The people of this world would never stop innovating and would adapt, as humans often do, to the limits of their machines. Therefore, monolithic machinations would be constructed for relatively simple problems we might encounter today, and the industrial clothing style would never really fall out of the mainstream. Instead, it would simply modernize, rather than disappear from our lives entirely. Furthermore, imagine this world not just as fiction, but as a reality in itself that everyone can participate in, and you will have Steampunk. Steampunk is not popular because of its clothing or artistic style, but rather because it inspires a sense of wonder in its followers through the use of seemingly archaic technology that appears alien and bizarre by compared to our modern electronics. With the growing popularity of Steampunk, the question of what exactly Steampunk is is always on people's lips, and for good reason. To the outside observer, Steampunk can sometimes seem like something completely inaccessible simply because the outside observer may know nothing about the genre and therefore feel uncomfortable with it. This lack of knowledge is understandable, Steampunk is not necessarily taught in schools and "punk" subcultures are not really dominant. This can seem complex and is often misunderstood as simply “industrial” fashion with a few quirks. In fact, Steampunk itself is just an offshoot of Cyberpunk, a totally different subculture that focuses on merging the present with the near future, both of which are middle of paper.... ...e when we start to think about what a television or a computer would look like if they were powered entirely by steam, that's what keeps people in the subculture, that's what motivates them to move forward and that which will pique the interest of a new generation of Steampunk fans. Works CitedDahncke, Pasha Ray. “IBM Social Sentiment Index Predicts New Retail Trend in the Making.” IBM Industries and Solutions. IBM, January 14, 2013. Web. December 12, 2013Jeter, KW Letter to Locus Magazine. April 1987. MS. Faren Miller. Locus Publications. Mei, Jennifer. Steampunk Bonaparte. Fantasy-magazine.com. Jennifer Mei, 2011. The web. December 12, 2013. Mondelli, John. Blood, sweat and tears. Perf. The cog is dead. The cog is dead. April 27, 2010. The web. December 12, 2013. Sontag, Susan. “The imagination of disaster”. Reading pop culture, a portable anthology. Ed. Jeff Ousborne. 1st ed. Boston. Bedford/St. Martin 2013. 316-333. Print