|
One puzzled student of French asked the teacher "What gender is computer?"
The teacher split the class into two groups, by gender, and asked them to decide whether "computer" should be a masculine or feminine noun.
Both groups were required to give four reasons for their recommendation.
The men's group decided that computers should definitely be of the
gender ("la computer"), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The 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;
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending
half your pay cheque on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine ("le computer"), because:
1. In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but they are still clueless;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they
ARE the problem;
4. As soon as you commit to one you realise that, if you'd waited a
little longer, you could have got a better model.
|
