Ok, so I should probably start out by saying that I've only played with the lame version of this game, and am basing my idea off of what I have seen and read online. Now then: 
 
When I first started reading about people's experiences with this game, it sounded a lot like Robinson Crusoe to me. One dude, all alone in a big place, exploring and shaping the world to his will. But then I realized there was something else, from another book, that this reminded me of. 
 
i assume many of you have read Enders Game. Remember the computer game they played? The unending, constantly changing game in which anything was possible, that turned out to be a form of psychological profiling? Doesn't that sound just a little like Minecraft? Think about it: You put a person in a world in which they can do and make damn near anything. Build fortresses, go exploring, fight monsters, build fucking computers, anything. Isn't that an excellent way to see what kind of a person they are? Just watching what they do? Sure, it's not as full of possibilities as the thing in Enders Game - you can't turn into a mouse and eat a giant's eyeball- but the basic premise seems very similar to me. People are having legit stories unfold in this game, when all it is is just them dicking around. 
 
I'm not saying this as a conspiracy theory or anything, mind you. Notch isn't running psych profiles on everyone who buys the game. Not any that I'm aware of, at least. But... does this make sense to anyone? Do you see the similarity?

Actually, that comparison is pretty close to the awesome version of the game as I find it gives the most flexibility of what you can do and, if you watch a few Let's Play's, you can see that sort of individual reasoning in action. Makes me want to analyze my own actions in the game.

Ender's game.  Best book ever.  I've read it like 10 times.