In 1959, C.P. Snow presented a lecture on The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution, published as a landmark book (New York, Cambridge University Press, 1959). This classic expresses the tension between the cultures of the sciences and the humanities.
There are clashing cultures in communication technology, as well. Since the advent of the Internet, the postal system has been aptly described as "snail mail." This traditional postal culture is rapidly dying. It is increasingly used merely for the delivery of periodicals, junk mail, and catalogs rather than for personal communication.
The postal system can be traced at least as far back as Marco Polo in the 13th century. However, it wasn't until 1837 that the official European postal system began. In America, Benjamin Franklin served as our first postmaster at the end of the 18th century. From then until World War II, letters could be delivered overnight between Philadelphia ...
