Today we sit with Bryan Chan, who was recently baptized on 7 November 2023. While many of us would know him as the son of sis Chee Ming, let’s try to get to know him in depth and encourage him as he begins his Christian journey
Farand:
Hi Bryan, could you start by briefly introducing yourself?Â
Bryan:
Hi I'm Bryan, and I'm currently in my second year as a university student at NUS. Some of my hobbies include reading, maths and playing board games.
Farand:
How has the year been for you so far?
Bryan:
So far the year has been great, it has been a good break and I'm just preparing for the new school semester ahead right now.
Farand:
Thanks! What are you majoring in? Also, it’s interesting that math is one of the things you are interested in! What about it interests you and how do you get engaged in it?
Bryan:
I'm majoring in mathematics and computer science. And I think what's interesting about math is that it's one of the few subjects that is built purely on logic and axioms, so something that has been proven true will continue to be true forever, and it's possible to verify and convince yourself that it is actually true.
In a sense it's nice that everything in mathematics can be verifiable and that we don't need to take it as truth just because it has always been like that
Farand:
That’s double degree? Sounds like 2 really difficult courses yet both seems rooted in logic as you mentioned. Were you drawn to Computer Science for the same reason?
Bryan:
Yup that's double degree and I think that math and computer science really complement each other very well. Math really provides the theoretical knowledge which you can then use to apply to different areas of computer science
Farand:
Do you already have thoughts or inclinations towards potential career paths in future?
Bryan:
I would say I'm currently more inclined towards the quant side but I think that other paths are also possible
Farand:
Nice! Sounds challenging as well and wish you all the best in that regard in future.
Going on a tangent, are the books you read or games you play also towards the logical/mathematical side of things? What are some books/games that you are into currently or can recommend?
Bryan:
I guess since my interests tend towards those areas I naturally find myself reading books that are related to those areas. But it tends to be the books that are a bit lighter on the mathematical/logical side of things as those are a bit more enjoyable to read in my free time without needing to think too much.
And for games I've always been more inclined towards strategic games, and the latest one I'm currently into is Lost Ruins of Arnak, it's a deck building/resource management game that is quite simple to learn but difficult to master
Farand:
Moving towards topics on the faith – I understand you had attended church regularly when young, stopped coming in the middle, and got baptised last year. Can you share about the personal journey you went through?
Bryan:
My mother brought me to church when I was younger, probably around like 5-6 years old. I remember enjoying going to church when I was young, but then due to some other external commitments I stopped coming for a period. Even though I didn't come regularly, I had some Bible studies with some of the preachers, and I think that helped me to maintain my faith and ultimately resulted in me returning back to church when I was older, and making the decision to be baptized.
Farand:
Thanks! Could you share a bit more into your decision to be baptised? Especially seeing as how you are very logic driven.
Bryan:
One of the more convincing arguments for me was how all the writers of the Bible wrote across different time periods, different locations and yet they didn't contradict each other, and this is very unlikely to occur if the writers were not inspired.
Farand:
Indeed! Thanks for that. Any final thoughts or message before we end off?
Bryan:
I think that the Christian journey is one that we can never really be fully prepared for before embarking on it and that we'll be learning a lot along the way, so for those considering I think the important thing is to take the first step forward.