Spanish Computer
>
>A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in
>
>Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine
>
>or feminine.
>
>"House" for instance, is feminine: "la casa."
>
>"Pencil," however, is masculine: "el lapiz."
>
>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 its
>
>recommendation.
>
>The men's group decided that "computer" should
>
>definitely be of the feminine gender ("la
>
>computadora"), 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.
>
>(THIS GETS BETTER!)
>
>
>
>
>
>The women's group, however, concluded that computers
>
>should be Masculine ("el computador"), 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.
>
>A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in
>
>Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine
>
>or feminine.
>
>"House" for instance, is feminine: "la casa."
>
>"Pencil," however, is masculine: "el lapiz."
>
>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 its
>
>recommendation.
>
>The men's group decided that "computer" should
>
>definitely be of the feminine gender ("la
>
>computadora"), 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.
>
>(THIS GETS BETTER!)
>
>
>
>
>
>The women's group, however, concluded that computers
>
>should be Masculine ("el computador"), 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.
