Botgirl's Bookshelf: The Second Self - Computers and the Human Spirit

Written over 20 years ago, The Second Self by Sherry Turkle is dead-on relevant for those of us interested in exploring the social and psychological dimensions of today's virtual worlds. It brings to life the intimate interbeing of person, society and technology. It exemplifies a research methodology that integrates immersion and inter-subjective analysis. To put it simply, Sherry Turkle rocks!

On a personal note, I was hooked at the start by an idea she brought up in the introduction to the new edition:

"...there are virtues in learning to see the commonplace as unfamiliar...to defamiliarize the mind itself and thus reveal what would otherwise be hidden in the light."

I couldn't have summed up the Botgirl Thought Experiment better myself.