Description

Have you ever looked in a mirror and felt a strange disconnect between the person staring back and the silent, aware presence within? What if that feeling isn't a fleeting illusion, but a glimpse of a profound truth? What if the solid, stable "self" you've always believed yourself to be is the most magnificent and convincing illusion of all?

In Thinking Mirror: Self Beyond Illusion, technologist and philosopher Al Mahmud Al Mamun embarks on a groundbreaking journey to deconstruct our most fundamental assumption: the "I." Blending the rigor of a computer scientist with the deep inquiry of a philosopher, this book reframes the human mind as a complex and often buggy operating system, and the ego not as our true self, but as a functional and evolving "User Interface."

Drawing on insights from neuroscience, cognitive psychology, futuristic technology, and ancient contemplative wisdom, this book presents a radical new synthesis for understanding the self in the 21st century. Through powerful metaphors—from cognitive biases as "glitches in our mental code" to the Ship of Theseus paradox as a model for our ever-changing identity—this book systematically dismantles the architecture of our constructed reality.

The journey unfolds in four transformative parts:

The Architecture of Illusion: Dismantles our perception of reality, revealing how our brains build a seamless, but ultimately subjective, world. The Ghost in the Machine: Turns the lens inward, interrogating the ego, the inner narrator, and the very concepts of free will and a unified consciousness. The Expanding Reflection: Explores how cutting-edge technologies like AI, Virtual Reality, and Brain-Computer Interfaces are shattering our old definitions of identity. Shattering the Mirror: Transforms theory into practice, offering a powerful toolkit of mindfulness, self-inquiry, and value-based design to move from being a passive character in a pre-written story to becoming the conscious architect of your own life.

Thinking Mirror is more than a book; it is a practical and philosophical adventure. It is an invitation to debug your own mind, to see beyond the reflection, and to discover the profound freedom and boundless potential that awaits on the other side of illusion. It is time to shatter the mirror and see what lies beyond.