The English novelist C. P. Snow wrote about the division of Britain into two cultures: one that was science-based; and the other that was based on the humanities. He saw this division as being a real problem for Britain in the area of science. We also have this problem, but in a more extreme sense because we do not have twin cultures. We have a single humanities-based culture and science has never obtained a proper role in the Irish academic tradition. This has become a serious problem because of the kind of economy we have built within the last generation. We see the future of our country as a knowledge-based economy, which actually means science and technology.