Essay

'Self' is commonly understood as the bare bone permanent qualities that constitute a person's uniqueness or essential being. Kind of a show runner, an independent entity capable of making well thought out responsible decisions.
Buddha explains the concept of 'not-self' by defining what he meant by concept of 'self'. According to Buddha there are five aggregates linked to the concept of self. These five aggregates construct or create or facilitate a person's being, the internal world he inhabits.

1. The physical body. The human body
2. Feelings. Good, bad.
3. Perception
4. Volition and Mental Formations
5. Consciousness
Thereafter, Buddha constructs the structure of his arguments by stating:

Buddha: "Form, O monks, is not-self; if form were self, then form would not lead to affliction”. One would be able to control our form thus 'May my form be thus, may my form not be thus'

Buddha: "What do you think of this, O monks? Is form permanent or impermanent?"
Monks: "Impermanent, O Lord."
Buddha: "Now, that which is impermanent, is it unsatisfactory or satisfactory?"
Monks: "Unsatisfactory, O Lord."
Similarly, Buddha goes over the other aggregates asking questions about its nature and whether it is compatible with permanence and satisfactoriness, properties typically associated with concept of 'Self' . Whether 'Self' comprises of seamless persistence, control unbroken through the passage of time? Buddha (who saw impermanence everywhere) said . everything is changing all of the time and is in the constant state of flow.

Thereafter, Buddha questions "Now, that which is impermanent, unsatisfactory, subject to change, is it proper to regard that as: 'This is mine, this I am, this is my self'?" In this way, Buddha reiterates ...

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...experiments been done on them? Yes. In one such experiment (4 pantyhose) done decades ago, Richard Nisbett and Timothy Wilson found out that people kind of come up with stories of their motivation when they are not conscious of their real motivation.
This could be the reason why Buddhists talk about deeds but no doer. So, how do the deeds get done? Mahatama Gandhi said 'hate the sin, not the sinner' while waging a non-violent freedom movement against the imperial Britishers.

We can say that the idea of 'self' is an output of the brain and mental formations,which is not supported by reality. Just like a a river, (for the sake of an identity has a name); but which is all different being at different times (source, mid-course or torrent ) due to factors beyond its reach.

To quote David Hume 'The 'self' (identity) ascribed to man is nothing more than a fiction'