Product Description

BEYOND DREAMS AND BEASTS tells a story of the story of the changing impact of the computeron our psychological lives. What is emerging, Turkle argues, is a new sense of identity, one which is de-centred and multiple. She describes the trends in computer design, in artificial intelligence, and in people's experience of virtual environments.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41567 in Books
• Published on: 1997-09-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Customer Reviews

The continuation of a fallacy.
Turkle's book is a good read, but can not be taken as authorative. She seems to have fallen into the same trap as most of the online researchers do. Turkle expresses her findings as though they come from a similar group of online people. The Internet is filled with various groups and ideologies. Cross-cultural comparison is fine, but considering everyone online as the starting point for an argument is just asking for disaster. It is because of this that Sherry and many others like her have written books that are good for a read but useless academically.

Very interesting anecdotes, but no thesis
Turkle's thesis seems to be that cyberspace encourages us to explore new identities--not very controversial. However, she does provide a lot of interesting stories about life on the internet and the book is very well-written. I use her Introduction to start off my class in technology and it generates a lot of discussion.

An important anthropology of virtual life.
This is a crucial read for those who are interested in the intersections of postmodern thinking about human subjectivity, the anthropology of the online world(s), and modern psychological understandings of identity and the human mind. Turkle is balanced and insightful, humble and well-read, and provides a welcome space for the reader to come to her own insights and epiphanies. The best book I've read in several years.