A pastor of one church who was previously a sailor, was very aware that
ships are addressed as 'she' and 'her'. He often wondered what gender
computers should be addressed. To answer that question, he set up two
groups of computer experts. The first was comprised 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 4 reasons for their recommendation.
The group of women reported that the computers should be referred to in
the
masculine gender because:
1. In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on.
2. They have a lot of data, but are still clueless.
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they
are the problem.
4. 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:
1. No one but the Creator understands their internal logic.
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is
incomprehensible to everyone else.
3. Even your smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for later
retrieval.
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending
half your paycheck on accessories for it.