We were incredibly proud of mathematician Daria pictured here receiving her prize from Sarah Hart from the British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) Schools Writing Prize at Gresham College last week! Here’s Daria’s take on the experience:

By Daria G, Year 10

The British Society for the History of Mathematics (BSHM) organises contests annually for a range of age groups, to encourage research into the history of Maths.

Having read “In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World”, I found the Black-Scholes equation to be an intriguing mathematical tool, based on stochastic processes. This randomness envelops almost all interactions in the stock markets, where this model found both its glorious application and tragic fiasco. Such a drastic contrast in this model’s fate led me to wanting to explore in more depth the history of its derivation and the formation of the assumptions this model is based upon. Having been awarded the first prize in the age category 11-15 for my essay on “Mathematics and the mysterious world of creating gold” and invited to attend a lecture series, organised by the BSHM, it was wonderful to celebrate other nominees and prize winners, who share a passion for Maths. There were three talks providing an insight into a wide range of the areas of research, from the mathematical treasures of Andean Khipu Strings to a fascinating talk on the Histories of Numbers. This experience opened a new dimension of my understanding of the evolution of mathematics.