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The Thought Show: A Genius of Maths

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Maryam Mirzakhani – A Genius of Maths

27/07/2017 GMT

A Genius of Maths

BBC World Service - The Thought Show, A Genius of Maths

The life and legacy of Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani

Maryam Mirzakhani - a genius of Maths. Plus, China’s livestreaming, and why some people crave the limelight.

The only woman to win the maths world’s biggest prize has died at the age of 40. As the only female winner of the Fields Medal – the maths equivalent to the Nobel Prize – Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani inspired a generation of female mathematicians. We look at her life and her legacy.

The first of two special reports reveals a unique Chinese love story involving one of China's most well-known live streamers, and a fan who watches her on a screen every single day.  Live streaming is big business in China, with half of the online Chinese community using livestreaming apps in 2016.

And why do some people crave the limelight? Jordan Dunbar undergoes an experiment to find out what the limelight does to our bodies, to get a chemical answer.

(Photo: Front pages of Iranian newspapers on 16 July 2017, bearing portraits of the top female mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani. Credit: Atta Kenare/Getty Images)

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