{∅, {∅}, {∅, {∅}}} : Rage Against the Meat Grinder

All I knew was that this character from Dostoevsky's novel, Crime and Punishment, was referred to as "the former student".  He did not appear to be employed, and he lived an impoverished existence.

I chose this name in an attempt to capture this feeling I have that my only identity is that of "former student".  I do not wish to identify myself as "former maintenance worker".   Choosing this name was also inspired by HT's choosing Holden as his name, the main character of Salinger's novel with this infamous and unreliable narrator.

Upon reading your question, I did a little research, and here is what I found.

The name Raskolnikov is derived from the word “raskolnik,” which refers to a person who opposed the reforms of the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th century. More broadly it means a dissenter and also contains the idea of “splitting apart” – as the church did ultimately split at that time. As well as the clear religious allusions, perhaps Dostoevsky is drawing attention to Raskolnikov’s dual nature.

I guess I also have a kind of dual nature.  On the one hand, I promote the study of mathematics as well as the philosophy of Schopenhauer, and, on the other hand, I am mystified by the dry, boring formalism found at the foundations of mathematics.  And I'm not really too crazy about Kant's writings (please don't tell this to Schopenhauer's ghost, as he might think less of me for it).

With each day I have a less and less clear idea of who or what I actually am or what I even think.  I'm not sure I could even explain with formal rigor what a "number" actually is ... 

[and I still wonder, is it Dostoyevsky or Dostoevsky?   It appears to be Dostoevsky as it does not have the red line under it as Dostoyevsky does]


Russian Names

The middle name of all male characters end in "ovitch" and of all female characters in "ovna." This ending simply means "son of" or "daughter of" the father whose first name is converted into their middle name and is called a patronymic. For example, Rodya and Dunya's father was named Roman Raskolnikov. Thus, Rodya's middle name Rodion Romanovitch means son of Roman and Dunya's middle name, Avdotya Romanovna, means daughter of Roman.

Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov (Rodya, Rodenka, or Rodka) A poverty-stricken student who conceives of a theory of the "Ubermensch" or extraordinary man who has the right and/or obligation to transgress the laws of the ordinary man in order to give a New Word or idea to all of humanity. He uses this theory as a justification or rationalization to commit murder.