# Featured Member - Jake Lai

We will be featuring different members of the Brilliant community, so that you can get to know them better. For the first issue, we are featuring Jake Lai.

Jake created the problem In the land of 13 dimensions, which is based on an identity that jake found as he was playing with the roots of unity. He promises to write a wiki on it soon!

What is $\sum_{k=0}^{\infty} \left[ \frac{1}{(13k)!} - \frac{1}{13(k!)} \right]$?

In the solution to Fibonacci is fun, Jake shows us how to calculate $\sum_{n=0}^{\infty} \frac{F_{n}}{3^{n}}$ using generating functions

1) Tell us more about yourself.

I'm Jake, a half-Thai half-Singaporean! Shout-out to all the Singaporean/Thai users!
My real name is Lairoongroj Jinnawat, but my friends find it hard to pronounce; hence, Jake Lai. My interests include piano (mostly improvisation), anime, poetry/creative writing, drawing, listening to music and staying up late. Most importantly, I love messing around in the realms of mathematics and physics (of course) and making music of all kinds.



2) What is one fun fact about yourself that the Brilliant community doesn’t know about.
I actually despised maths in primary school. I couldn't understand what people could possibly feel so passionate about. To me, maths was just tedious: counting, multiplying, memorizing formulas. I didn't "get" it.
However, by March 2013, I was getting into quantum mechanics (sad to say through YouTube quantum woo) and realized QM was really heavy on maths. I let go of my preconceptions of maths and started relearning algebra, getting into its essence.
Soon after, I bought a triad of O-level textbooks, which broadened my scope of maths; I roughly knew what it was now: even more than mere symbols to manipulate, rearrange, it was deeply connected with the universe, a language. Yet, it was the search of beauty: in symmetry, in structures arising from fundamental axioms. So here I am now, and here I venture forth.
Oh yeah, and I can't whistle. But I can beatbox!



3) What do you want to accomplish in the next few years?

I don't have short-term goals, only long-term goals. The future is uncertain as of now.
It would be great if I could become a theoretical physicist though.
Physics has always intrigued me because I've always been naturally curious, even when I was very young. I wanted to know how things worked; not as an engineer would, but rather on a deeper level. I was fascinated by how, fundamentally, the universe appears to be probabilistic, and how these quirky microscopic phenomena could give rise to the macroscopic world we're so familiar with. I was also interested in relativistic effects that appear when you travels at speeds close to $c$; who would ever imagine that, just by moving quickly enough, you could experience space and time entirely different from other observers!
I'm trying to master classical mechanics at the moment. I'm quite fond of EM too, as well as QED/QCD. I'm interested the mathematics of fluid dynamics but so far it has yet to fully capture my attention. I'm also reading up a bit on tensor calculus, which is essential for relativity. M-theory is also something that excites me

 4) What do you wish for Brilliant?

I wish for Brilliant to be more popular and more diverse. Tell your friends, tell your family! Tell them, "Don't be scared of maths/physics, it won't bite! Probably!" Brilliant has a bright future ahead. Here's a (futile) wish for myself, too: I wish I'd joined earlier. Oh well.

Note by Calvin Lin
6 years, 2 months ago

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Sort by:

Going to my table after looking at Jake's.....

my table

- 6 years, 2 months ago

Hahaha, mine is normally messy too, actually.

- 6 years, 2 months ago

And your superpower is...., (besides beatboxing)?

P.S.. Congrats on being the first to be profiled. And please, mess up your desk a little. :)

- 6 years, 2 months ago

Sleeping! I think.

I cleaned my desk up just for this shot ;)

- 6 years, 2 months ago

"The universe appears to be probabilistic". Well, yes, I'm very fond of that paradigm, i.e., perhaps maximum entropy production is what's behind many if not most of the laws of physics.

I share with you your hopes for Brilliant.org. Congratulations for being the first featured member. Hang around!

- 6 years, 2 months ago

Thank you! I'll do just that, Mr Mendrin!

- 6 years, 2 months ago

Maths and physics are the only two best things ever happened to me. And @Jake i also wish if i would have joined earlier.

- 6 years, 2 months ago

Enjoy the finer things in life, my friend :)

- 6 years, 2 months ago

- 6 years, 2 months ago

Thanks, poi!

- 6 years, 2 months ago

どういたしまして, っぽい :3

- 6 years, 2 months ago

That's a pretty organized study table. I always mess up mine .

For the fibonacci question, is there another solution, really?

Congrats btw, @Jake Lai

- 6 years, 2 months ago

Thank you! I'm sure there are more than three approaches, so I'll try to think of one more; you should try, too.

- 6 years, 2 months ago

Jake, half-Singaporean? I am your neighbor, a Malaysian. And in Malaysia, race or ethnicity is a big thing. It decides if you get special privileges from the dysfunctional government. Anyway, back to Singaporean. Genetically, what is a Singaporean? Isn't it a nationality? So you mom is a Chinese or Chines-Indian? Your questions are tough can't solve many of them.

- 6 years, 2 months ago

Indeed, I'm aware of the issues faced in Malaysia with regards to race and religion; I have a couple of Malaysian friends myself, of different races.

I hold both passports; Singaporean is definitely not an ethnicity, but nationality, rather. My parents are both Chinese.

Feel free to contact me via email/Facebook if you would like some hints! Nice to hear from you!

- 6 years, 2 months ago

Congrats @Jake Lai ! You always have been an inspiration for me! Which books do you consult (for Physics and Calculus in particular)?

- 6 years, 2 months ago

Initially, I found my resources purely through surfing randomly, picking up knowledge as I went by. This, however, soon proved inefficient - I didn't have a solid foundation - and so I consulted KhanAcademy as well as using the aforementioned O-Level textbooks. I don't really use books; however, I'm currently reading Real Analysis by Royden to get a firm foundation. Now, it's back to surfing, but with Brilliant on my side! It's a really helpful community <3

There really is no right way to study up on maths; you have to find your own comfortable spot: is it focused on textbooks, exercises, quizzes, or just surfing the web? Explore these options, and see which combinations work best!

- 6 years, 2 months ago

Well, thanks for replying. I agree with you that there is no right way to study up on maths but not only maths, there is no right way to study any subject whatsoever. BTW, what does your status mean?

- 6 years, 2 months ago

- 6 years, 2 months ago

In which class are you??

- 6 years, 2 months ago

11th!

- 6 years, 2 months ago

Same feeling Brother @Jake Lai You are my inspiration after @Chew-Seong Cheong

- 6 years, 1 month ago

Jake is much better than I.

- 6 years, 1 month ago

@Jake Lai What is the most difficult and mind boggling problem you have ever solved?

- 6 years, 2 months ago

Difficulty doesn't really attract me. More novelty/elegance/surprise than anything else!

- 6 years, 2 months ago

Nice thought!

- 6 years, 2 months ago

How many other Featured Members did I miss :( ?

- 6 years, 2 months ago

None, this is the first. As mentioned,

For the first issue, we are featuring Jake Lai.

Staff - 6 years, 2 months ago

:D Nice to hear that. Thank god, I am not too late.

- 6 years, 2 months ago

When you say "I don't have short-term goals, only long-term goals.", what do you mean? For example, when you see this message, your short term goal becomes replying to it.

- 6 years, 2 months ago

You know what I mean ;)

- 6 years, 2 months ago

@Jake Lai Sorry , if you took wrong meaning of our chat. I think you misunderstood me. Sorry if you felt angry because of my words , because I didn't know you well . @Julian Poon has explained me everything.I only had intention to be a good friend of you.

- 6 years, 1 month ago

What are some great tips on learning music?

- 6 years, 1 month ago

Get a good feel for the types of music you like. Listen to lots of music, even stuff you wouldn't normally like. Pay close attention to elements of music in everyday life. Experiment :3

- 6 years, 1 month ago

Jake, what is your soundcloud account? I will follow you on there.

- 6 years, 1 month ago