Shajedur Rahman

“Sleep is not escape—it is encounter.” A Planet in Slumber At this very moment, nearly two billion humans lie in silence, eyes closed, minds adrift. From Dhaka to Dakar, from São Paulo to Seoul, the planet hums with a strange stillness. Sleep has descended—not as a choice, but as a command. It is the most democratic of phenomena, the most private of rituals, and the most misunderstood of biological imperatives. Yet sleep is not merely rest. It is a rupture. A daily death. A cosmic exile. And in the words of H. P. Lovecraft, it is also a gateway. Hypnos : The God Who Whispers Beyond Wakefulness In Lovecraft’s Hypnos , the narrator seeks to transcend the boundaries of waking life, guided by a companion who may be divine—or monstrous. Together, they plunge into altered states of consciousness, chasing visions that defy language and logic. Sleep, in this tale, is not a passive retreat but an active rebellion against the tyranny of the real. Hypnos is not a god of rest. He is a god of escap...

The Mirror and the Machine Every morning, you look in the mirror and recognize yourself. But what exactly is it that you recognize? A face, yes. A pattern of features that memory has tagged as you. But beneath that reflection — beneath the cells, the memories, the emotions that flicker and fade — what if you are not a singular “being” at all, but a process? A self-replicating, self-updating algorithm that has learned to call itself I. Humanity once thought of the soul as eternal, indivisible, and divine. Then science arrived, whispering that what we call “mind” emerges from neurons firing in certain sequences. Now, in the age of artificial intelligence, another mirror is raised — one made of code, silicon, and data — and it reflects something unsettlingly familiar. If intelligence can emerge from algorithms, can identity as well? If we can build a mind, what makes your mind so uniquely “you”? Perhaps, after all, the self is just an algorithm — a pattern written in the language of evolu...

W hat makes us human? What binds us together? What drives our species forward—and what holds us back? Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens is not just a history book—it’s a philosophical excavation of the human condition. It doesn’t merely recount what happened; it asks why it happened, how we interpreted it, and what it means for our future. Reading it felt like stepping outside of time and watching humanity unfold from a cosmic vantage point. It was unsettling, illuminating, and deeply personal. Harari divides human history into three major revolutions: the Cognitive Revolution (c. 70,000 years ago), the Agricultural Revolution (c. 12,000 years ago), and the Scientific Revolution (c. 500 years ago). Each one reshaped our species in profound ways, not just biologically or socially, but psychologically and spiritually. The Cognitive Revolution: Imagining Our Way Forward Harari begins with the idea that Homo sapiens became dominant not because of physical strength or intelligence alone, but bec...

In 2017, Bill Wurtz uploaded a video to YouTube with a modest title: “ history of the entire world, i guess.” What followed was twenty minutes of pure internet alchemy—a surreal, musical, and oddly profound retelling of everything that has ever happened, from the Big Bang to the modern day. It shouldn’t work. It’s too fast, too absurd, too fragmented. And yet, it does. The Style: Chaos with a Rhythm Bill Wurtz is known for his minimalist animations, pastel colors, and deadpan delivery. But here, he pushes his style to the extreme. The video is a relentless stream of: 🌍 Big ideas (the formation of the universe, the rise of civilizations) 🎶 Catchy jingles (“the sun is a deadly laser”) 😂 Absurd humor (sudden asides, existential jokes, and meme-worthy one-liners) The result is hypnotic. You don’t just watch history—you feel it rushing past you. Why It Resonates On the surface, it’s comedy. But beneath the jokes, there’s something deeper: Perspective: By compressing billions of yea...

This is not a ranking, but a gathering. This is a personal and evolving list of books that have shaped my thinking, stirred my emotions, or simply stayed with me long after I turned the last page. They span multiple genres—fiction, philosophy, poetry, memoir—and the order in which they appear has nothing to do with their status or importance. Some are classics, some obscure, some philosophical, some poetic—but all matter to me. It is my "100 must read books bfore you die" list. I’m still building this list, so consider this a living archive. Each title will eventually include a short reflection or reason why it belongs here. 📚 The List (Work in Progress) 1.  A Short History of the World — H. G. Wells A sweeping overview of human civilization—from prehistoric times to the modern age. This book helped me trace the arc of our collective story, showing how empires, ideas, and inventions shaped the world I live in today. It gave me a clear understanding of how we became what we ...

H.G. Wells’ A Short History of the World  is a masterful condensation of human history, written with the clarity and imagination that made Wells one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century. Published in 1922, the book offers a sweeping narrative that spans from the formation of the Earth to the aftermath of World War I. It is not merely a chronology of events, but a philosophical reflection on the evolution of life, society, and consciousness. “The history of mankind is the history of the attainment of external power. Man is the only animal who can transmit his acquisitions to his offspring.” — H.G. Wells Wells begins with the origins of the universe, grounding his account in scientific principles. He traces the emergence of life, the rise of vertebrates, and the development of human species through Darwinian evolution. This cosmic perspective sets the tone for the rest of the book, reminding readers of the vastness of time and the relative insignificance of individual...

Kurzgesagt’s animated short EGG , based on Andy Weir’s story, presents a provocative metaphysical idea: that every human who has ever lived—or will ever live—is you. This concept challenges conventional notions of individuality, time, and morality, offering a radical reimagining of existence as a singular, unified experience. “Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I've ever known.” — Chuck Palahniuk At its core, EGG explores solipsism—the philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist. But it goes further, suggesting a pantheistic and reincarnational framework where the self is not isolated, but universal. You are not one person among many, but the only soul, reincarnated across time and space to live every human life. This perspective reframes empathy and ethics. Every act of kindness or cruelty you commit is ultimately directed at yourself. The golden rule—"treat others as you wish to be treated"—becomes not just moral adv...