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One puzzled student asked, "What gender is computer?"
The teacher did not know, and the word was not in her French
dictionary.
So for fun she split the class into two groups appropriately
enough, by gender, and asked them to decide whether "computer"
should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Both groups were required
to give four reasons for their recommendation.
The men's group decided that computer should definitely be of
the feminine gender ('la computer"), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other
computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for
possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself
spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be
masculine 'le computer") because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the
time they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had
waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.
The teacher did not know, and the word was not in her French
dictionary.
So for fun she split the class into two groups appropriately
enough, by gender, and asked them to decide whether "computer"
should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Both groups were required
to give four reasons for their recommendation.
The men's group decided that computer should definitely be of
the feminine gender ('la computer"), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other
computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for
possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself
spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be
masculine 'le computer") because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the
time they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had
waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.
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