Grit and Character
Professor Jason Price
Nichols College
Do you give all that you have? The philosopher William James posited a gap between potential and its actualization. “The human individual lives usually far within his limits; he energizes below his maximum and he behaves below his optimum.” (The Powers of Men – 1907) Angela Duckworth defines Grit as perseverance and passion for long-term goals. I am involved in a study that is investigating the effect of Grit on various aspects of academic life. It is of particular interest to me that an individual’s grit score can be decomposed into two components, passion and perseverance, with both components seeming to drive success in different areas. The decomposition
Grit = Passion + Perseverance
is reminiscent of the decomposition of a character of a finite group into irreducible characters.
In this talk, I will discuss my career journey starting as an undergraduate at Providence College. I will give an introduction to the Grit study that I am involved in. I will also introduce group representations and characters. This part of the talk will pull in elements of Linear Algebra and Abstract Algebra although no knowledge of either is presupposed.
Jason Price is the Associate Dean for Liberal Arts and an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Nichols College. His research interests include number theory and educational technology. He studied at Providence College and the University of Vermont. He enjoys teaching a number of subjects, particularly Abstract Algebra, and spending time with his wife and baby girl.
