french lesson

French for 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 retrieval; and
> > >>>
> > >>> 4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself
> > >>> spending half your paycheck 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.