Uncanny Quote by Sherry Turkle
““uncanny as something long familiar that feels strangely unfamiliar. The uncanny stands between standard categories and challenges the categories themselves. It is familiar to see a doll at rest. But we don’t need to cover its eyes, for it is we who animate it. It is familiar to have a person’s expressive face beckon to us, but if we blindfold that person and put them behind a curtain, we are inflicting punishment. The Furby with its expressions of fear and the gendered Nexi with her blindfold are the new uncanny in the culture of computing.””
About This Quote
Source Book: Alone Together by Sherry Turkle, 2011
The uncanny is the feeling of something that is both familiar and strange, exposing the limits of our categories and prompting reflection on how technology animates life.
In simple terms: Familiar things can feel strange, revealing hidden assumptions.
Key Takeaway
Question familiar assumptions about technology.
Themes
uncanny
technology
human‑machine interaction
Mood
thoughtful
curious
Type
analytical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- design critique
- AI ethics
- human‑computer interaction
- media studies
Key Concepts
Familiarity
strangeness
category theory
Questions to Reflect On
- How does familiarity become unsettling?
- What does this reveal about our relationship with machines?
A Different Perspective
The feeling can be subjective and vary across cultures.
![“I think there's something extraordinarily nice about seeing the dawn up before one goes to bed, [] there's something uncanny about it.” quote by Nick Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3a1/nick-drake-26894_bed_i-think-there-s-something-extraordinaril_237268.jpg)
