Edouard Bastarache Inc. on wed 24 nov 04
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Douglas English=20
=20
LE COMPUTER=20
=20
A French teacher was explaining to her class that in French, unlike =
English,=20
nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. "House" for =
instance,=20
is feminine-"la maison." "Pencil", however, is masculine-"le crayon."=20
=20
A student asked, "What gender is computer?"=20
=20
Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two =
groups,=20
male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether =
"computer"=20
should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give =
four=20
reasons for their recommendation.=20
=20
=20
The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the =
feminine=20
gender ("la computer"), because:=20
=20
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic.=20
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is=20
incomprehensible to everyone else.=20
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for =
possible=20
later retrieval.=20
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending =
half=20
your paycheck on accessories for it.=20
(No chuckling guys...this gets better!!!)=20
=20
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine =
(le=20
computer), because:=20
=20
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on.=20
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves.=20
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they =
ARE=20
the problem.=20
. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a=20
little longer, you could have gotten a better model.=20
=20
The women won!=20
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