That's what I mean -- I think when you're talking about "future" tech and science, you have more leeway to mess around and make stuff up. Like, I could write a story where the LHC has been able to prove that the Higgs boson does, in fact, exist, and at the same time, these other handful of particles we never expected to find. If I set the story in 2010, it probably wouldn't ring true, but set it in 2110 and it's totally plausible. Hee.

Again, not saying steampunk suffers or that futuretech stuff is better, just that there's a difference. And, to me personally, the difference is enough to probably keep me from attempting to write steampunk, whereas I'd be up for trying something based on the possible future quantum theory and particle physics.