CASPER
New member
The 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.*