A language instructor was explaining to her class that French nouns, unlike
> > their English counterparts, are grammatically designated as masculine or
> > feminine. Things like 'chalk' or 'pencil,' she described, would have a
> > gender association although in English, these words were neutral gender.
> >
> > Puzzled, one student raised his hand and asked, "What gender is a computer?"
> > The teacher wasn't certain, which it was. So she divided the class into two
> > groups and asked them to decide if a computer should be masculine or
> > feminine. One group was composed of the women in the class, and the other
> > of men. Both groups were asked to give four reasons for their
> > recommendation.
> >
> > The group of women concluded that computers should be referred to in the
> > masculine gender because:
> >
> > 1. In order to get their attention; you have to turn them on.
> > 2. They have a lot of data but are still clueless.
> > 3. They are supposed to help you solve your problems, but half the time they ARE the problem.
> > 4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that, if you had waited a
> > little longer, you could have had a better model.
> >
> > The men, on the other hand, decided that computers should definitely be
> > referred to in the feminine gender 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 your smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for later retrieval.
> > 4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half
> > your paycheck on accessories for it. |
