C.P. Snow published his 1959 Rede lecture under the title The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. His four brief chapters of 54 pages define the thesis about the two cultures - the literary and the scientific. The other sections on The Intellectuals as Natural Luddites, The Scientific Revolution, and the Rich and the Poor support his main contention. Perhaps his last section is the weakest and least interesting to the reader but certainly not without merit.

The heart of the essay deals with his criticism of the modern writers, the intellectuals who make no attempt to understand the Second Law of Thermodynamics or any part of the scientific culture. These writers, the so-called intellectuals, are natural Luddites, and their political views brought "Auschwitz that much nearer."

The way out of the cultural divide, Snow asserts, is a rethinking of our education. The remaining chapters deal with a survey of professional training in the leading countries of the world like England, Germany, Russia, and the U.S. The final chapter focuses on how the rich countries can help the poor to establish a higher standard of living.

Over the 40 years since its appearance, Snow's essay has generated responses from the leading critics and scientists in each decade. The bibliography on the Internet alone would keep one busy for a college semester. This landmark essay is still worth reading after all these years.

~ John Smith, Former Department Head, English, Brunswick High School