A scientist had previously been a sailor. He was very aware that ships
were addressed as "she" and "her". He often wondered what gender
computers should be addressed as. To answer that question, he set up
two groups of computer experts.
The first group was composed of women, and the second of men. Each
group was asked to recommend whether computers should be referred to
in the feminine gender, or the masculine gender. They were asked to
give four reasons for their recommendations.
The group of women reported that computers should be referred to in
the masculine gender because:
In order to get their attention you have to turn them on.
The have a lot of data, but are still clueless.
They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they
are the problem themselves.
As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a
little longer you could have had a better model.
The men, on the other hand, concluded that computers should be
referred to in the feminine gender because:
No one but the Creator understands their internal logic.
The native language they use to communicate with other computers is
incomprehensible to everyone else.
Even your smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for later
retrieval.
As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending
half of your paycheck on accessories for it.
