Interview with Mike Erkulev

Published 2018-10-23.
What is your writing process?
Stochastic is probably the best word to describe it. It starts with a revelation, an "aha moment" in which I come to realize something. That moment of catharsis is accompanied by a burst of energy, which enables me to do a large portion of the work in an extremely short period of time. After that all that's left is to fill in the details, fact check, and examine the subject deeper. This is a meticulous and slow process that takes the bulk of the time and effort.
What are your five favorite books, and why?
I don't read much fiction, but if I had to name my favorites, it would be Homo Zapiens by Victor Pelevin, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, The Doomed City by Arkady and Boris Strugatski, and Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. Each of them is beautiful in its own way and all possess valuable ideas, some of which are reflected in my own writing.

As for non-fiction, I value thinkers and ideas more than any particular books by those thinkers. Naming just five is really hard, but I'll try. Nietzsche for seeing that religious consciousness is over and Man needs to be surpassed. Hegel for formulating the idea of the Weltgeist and predicting the end of history. Alan Watts for bringing Eastern thought to the West and his brilliant interpretation of it. Kuhn for demonstrating that science works in paradigms, not laws, and how those paradigms influence our thinking. Quine for many different ideas, including insights into ways of perception, the problem of demarcation, instrumentalism, and others.
How do you approach cover design?
KISS.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you?
Putting words onto paper helps bring clarity to my thoughts. It's a self-reinforcing loop of investigation that fleshes out the ideas that I have and allows me to share them with others.
How do you discover the ebooks you read?
Books serve as a resource base for my studies. When I get interested in a subject relevant books just appear naturally during the course of research.
What is your e-reading device of choice?
A desktop computer.
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Books by This Author

Encyclopedia Demonica
Price: Free! Words: 57,550. Language: American English. Published: January 20, 2019 . Categories: Nonfiction » Philosophy » Contemporary philosophy, Nonfiction » Psychology » General
The book examines three prominent problems: desire, meaning, and technological singularity. It ties those problems into a unified framework and provides a solution to each of them. By unifying the ideas of philosophers, psychologists, and experts from a range of other fields it establishes a unique perspective on those problems and the ways in which they can be addressed.