Introduction

Abstract

We live in an age of the specialist: an age in which specialised activity is pursued by specialists for the applause of specialists. Even within each relatively narrow branch of knowledge, whether it be English literature, Christian theology, physical science or mechanical engineering, the specialists can seldom talk meaningfully to one another. The Anglo-Saxon scholar has just as much difficulty in communicating with the critic of the modern novel as the thermodynamicist has in conveying his ideas to the stress analyst. It is not a matter of ‘two cultures’ but of a myriad of cultures, all of which are incomprehensible to the majority of mankind.