by Startreader » Thu Oct 16, 2014 4:55 pm
Ann wrote:Startreader wrote:
I say "man" not to be sexist but because most crane drives are male and "man" would include aliens.
Hey, I have no problem with your assumption that a crane driver would usually be a man, but... aren't there female aliens?
As
Mr Spock once said,
It is a well-known fact that we Vulcans propagate our race by mail.
Ann
"Man" means a male member of the dominant semi-intelligent species on Terra. It also means a unit of any tool-using, intelligent species, for example a Puppeteer, a Dalek or an ascended Ancient. In that sense, "man" includes the feminine, so using it to mean "an unspecified, general alien tool-user" was not gender specific. It is like using "whale" or "tree" or "worm". It is rather unfortunate that English can use the same word for the gender and the species but it does give us the opportunity for fun with words.
On the subject of "Vulcans", I would prefer those did not propagate. They are one of the stupidest aliens ever invented, collectively and as represented by individuals. Only the Klingons surpass them in sheer idiocy. Vulcans are also immoral and evil.
But if the thing on Titan is a huge guy in a construction machine perhaps we should try to communicate with it. Can we modulate Cassini's radars enough to make them useful as talk-radio?
[quote="Ann"][quote]Startreader wrote:
I say "man" not to be sexist but because most crane drives are male and "man" would include aliens.[/quote]
Hey, I have no problem with your assumption that a crane driver would usually be a man, but... aren't there female aliens?
As [url=http://www.startrek.com/legacy_media/images/200307/spock01/320x240.jpg]Mr Spock[/url] once said, [i]It is a well-known fact that we Vulcans propagate our race by mail.[/i] :wink:
Ann[/quote]
"Man" means a male member of the dominant semi-intelligent species on Terra. It also means a unit of any tool-using, intelligent species, for example a Puppeteer, a Dalek or an ascended Ancient. In that sense, "man" includes the feminine, so using it to mean "an unspecified, general alien tool-user" was not gender specific. It is like using "whale" or "tree" or "worm". It is rather unfortunate that English can use the same word for the gender and the species but it does give us the opportunity for fun with words.
On the subject of "Vulcans", I would prefer those did not propagate. They are one of the stupidest aliens ever invented, collectively and as represented by individuals. Only the Klingons surpass them in sheer idiocy. Vulcans are also immoral and evil.
But if the thing on Titan is a huge guy in a construction machine perhaps we should try to communicate with it. Can we modulate Cassini's radars enough to make them useful as talk-radio?