The idea behind this comes from a fair amount of tropes found in steampunk that are way beyond plausibility ("oh Zeppelins everywhere in 1890..."), but nevertheless show that there is potential in a lot of technologies of the time.
The topic in itself is fairly broad, since it can cover any technology and any era pre 1900, though I guess the 19th century is indeed the part with the most potential since any technology from prior times can still be developed there.
So we can think of how steam engines could have been applied further and beyond, how wire telegraphs could have been developed more, but also how older technologies and techniques that died out could have still been used (e.g. some hardcore fans of plate armouring still trying to make it better a few centuries after the introductions of firearms).
I have roughly 3 main categories of PODs in mind for the topic.
1. Earlier Development PODs
- Earlier support : some technologies were developed decades (nay, centuries in a few cases) before being actually properly noticed and applied on a significant scale, so if they were to be taken seriously from the beginning, perhaps they could develop earlier. Please note that this covers cases where these technologies have already access to relevant materials and applications.
- Earlier combination : sometimes, you already have all the ingredients there, but it's just nobody had thought of combining them together. It's one of those "accidental" discoveries which become game-changers. So if they happen at a certain time... they may just as well happen earlier.
2. Further development PODs
- Further innovation : so if we take a technology, how far can we innovate with it? In an age where aristocrats could choose to support any kind of endeavours if it caught their fancy, how far could techniques have been pushed with the right money and man- and brainpower?
- Broader application : same technology, different context. The steam engine is an easy choice there, but even early electricity or hot air flight could be of interest.
3. Beyond obsolescence PODs
- Hardcore believers/traditions : maybe a minority of folks keep developing a technology when it has long been supplanted by something far more modern. Something that comes to mind here is, for instance, the whole bow/crossbow VS firearms opposition. What if some people still found benefits in bows after the introduction of firearms and chose to develop these further?
- Choosing Less recource-efficient/More luxurious options: how many technologies were abandoned simply because other options were less costly, while they were in fact more effective? What if some privileged groups decided to keep developing their less accessible yet overall "better" alternative?
I'm sure there are plenty of other possible PODs, but these are the ones I get from the top of my head right now.
So where could those technologies go and, what would be the consequences of those further developments?
The topic in itself is fairly broad, since it can cover any technology and any era pre 1900, though I guess the 19th century is indeed the part with the most potential since any technology from prior times can still be developed there.
So we can think of how steam engines could have been applied further and beyond, how wire telegraphs could have been developed more, but also how older technologies and techniques that died out could have still been used (e.g. some hardcore fans of plate armouring still trying to make it better a few centuries after the introductions of firearms).
I have roughly 3 main categories of PODs in mind for the topic.
1. Earlier Development PODs
- Earlier support : some technologies were developed decades (nay, centuries in a few cases) before being actually properly noticed and applied on a significant scale, so if they were to be taken seriously from the beginning, perhaps they could develop earlier. Please note that this covers cases where these technologies have already access to relevant materials and applications.
- Earlier combination : sometimes, you already have all the ingredients there, but it's just nobody had thought of combining them together. It's one of those "accidental" discoveries which become game-changers. So if they happen at a certain time... they may just as well happen earlier.
2. Further development PODs
- Further innovation : so if we take a technology, how far can we innovate with it? In an age where aristocrats could choose to support any kind of endeavours if it caught their fancy, how far could techniques have been pushed with the right money and man- and brainpower?
- Broader application : same technology, different context. The steam engine is an easy choice there, but even early electricity or hot air flight could be of interest.
3. Beyond obsolescence PODs
- Hardcore believers/traditions : maybe a minority of folks keep developing a technology when it has long been supplanted by something far more modern. Something that comes to mind here is, for instance, the whole bow/crossbow VS firearms opposition. What if some people still found benefits in bows after the introduction of firearms and chose to develop these further?
- Choosing Less recource-efficient/More luxurious options: how many technologies were abandoned simply because other options were less costly, while they were in fact more effective? What if some privileged groups decided to keep developing their less accessible yet overall "better" alternative?
I'm sure there are plenty of other possible PODs, but these are the ones I get from the top of my head right now.
So where could those technologies go and, what would be the consequences of those further developments?
