mɪˈkænɪkəl

I’ve always loved mechanical objects. The first I can clearly remember was a mechanical calculator given me by a grandfather around the time that handheld electronic calculators were becoming available. I remain fascinated by the workings of such devices. How the simple moving of parts [gears, cogs and levers] can yield complex results and how ultimately all mathematics boils  down to patterns and arrangements of things in space in relation to one another. Only small steps between the abacus and Pascal’s Calculator and on to modern computing power.

Amazing to think that the ancient Greeks had steam power and mechanical devices [the Antikythera mechanism discovered in 1901 as one example] worked out already but it took until the 14th Century for mechanical and astronomical clocks to be made in the West. Also astounding to think that whilst mechanical calculators had their zenith during WWII [bombsites and encryption/decoding machines] and were in widespread use until the 1970’s, they still had a place as late as 2002 aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft as part of Globus IMP instruments.

I believe that a main reason why Steampunk as a literary genre [also increasingly akin to Goths and Gothic, as a culture and lifestyle choice] is so appealing is our desire to re-engage with the sense of touch that has been lost to us since the birth of the digital age. And of course as humans we are programmed to love seeing things move.

John Lash – http://www.dancingarc.com