"The Computer"

A French teacher was explaining to her class that in
French, Unlike English, nouns are designated as either
masculine or feminine.

"House" is feminine-"la maison."
"Pencil" is masculine-"le crayon."

A student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?"

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the
class into two groups
- male and female - and asked them to decide for
themselves whether "computer" should be a masculine or a feminine noun.

Each group was asked 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 review; and

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find
yourself spending half your salary 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 women won ...