Shakuntala Devi: A Human Computer
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28 January 2021
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Shakuntala Devi was a mathematician who cherished to simplify the magic of arithmetic calculations through her exceptional talent. Her wisdom and gifted personality have inspired millions of students all around the globe.
Who was Shakuntala Devi?
Shakuntala Devi was born on 4th November 1929 in Bangalore, Karnataka. She had unparalleled talent in calculating complex mathematical numbers. She proved her exceptional talent in arithmetic maths through her math shows worldwide at a very tender age.
Her excellent skill has brought her a renowned name as “Human-Computer.” Shakuntala Devi was also an author and showcased her wisdom through books on astrology, puzzles, and mathematics.
She made our country proud throughout the world by securing a place in “The Guinness Book of World Records” for her intellectual mathematical talent. A motivational speaker who enlightened the lives of many individuals towards mathematics.
In 1960, she married Paritosh Banerjee and was blessed with a daughter. Internationally acclaimed mathematician Shakuntala Devi is genuinely a wonder on earth whose life journey needs to be known by students and parents.
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Why is Shakuntala Devi famous?
Most of the time, people were astonished by Devi’s mathematical excellence. People were always thinking about how Shakuntala Devi calculates such huge numbers randomly assigned to her in an instant. She is an extraordinary human with impeccable calculating skills that brought her the title “Human-Computer.”
On 18th June, 1980 at Imperial College London she demonstrated multiplication of two complex 13-digit numbers such as 7,686,369,774,870 * 2,465,099,745,779.
Those numbers were given randomly, and Devi answered it as 18,947,668,177,995,426,462,773,730 in just 28 seconds, it has brought her worldly fame. She never used any paper or pen to calculate the numbers; it’s her mental ability to determine the right answer in her mind calculations.
All of these outstanding accomplishments are achieved without taking any higher degree of education. Her talent for arithmetic calculation has made her famous, and she deserves the magnificent titles given for her talents.
The independent will to achieve the success and enjoyment in the subject of maths earned her universal recognition. Our determination to grasp and follow the greater good in our interests makes us a successful person. Embarking on a smart path through difficult situations and assessments can make each of us an excellent student.
Devi has an immense passion for numbers, and that extended her interest in astrology too. Her strength of numbers was applied to the pursuit of astrological knowledge. She even impressed many with her astrology predictions about them. Devi has also expressed her passion for writing through books, which made her author of diverse genres.
Her perseverance in aspiring to be famous emerged when she acknowledged her rare supreme talents and utilized them for good. Her presence was an honor to the country, and she will always be remembered as one of the great mathematician prowess.
Awards and Achievements of Shakuntala Devi
The authenticity of Shakuntala Devi’s talents gained her many awards and achievements. One of the well-known titles that capped her talent is “Human-Computer.” She outperformed the most sophisticated computers at the time and mesmerized people with her mathematical capabilities.
In 1980, Devi’s successful attempt to multiply two random 13-digits in 28 seconds was recorded for the year 1982 of The Guinness Book of World Records. One of her talents include her writings such as:
- Figuring: The Joy of the Numbers
- More puzzles to Puzzle You
- In The Wonderland of Numbers
- The Book of Numbers
- Awaken Genius in Your Child
- Super Memory - It Can be Yours
- Perfect Murder
- Astrology For You
- System of Education
- Rural Credits and Agriculture Development
- Caste System in India
- Women’s Status and Social Change
Devi has written books on mathematical calculations, memory power, social issues, puzzles, and mysteries. A few books written by Devi have the tricks and tips to improve mathematical ability and enhance memory.
She has also written books related to social issues that are inspiring and educational. Devi has added fun into maths and explained it as the most easy-going concepts to learn. It has inspired many students to take forward their mathematical abilities.
The early life of the mathematical prodigy
Shakuntala Devi’s parents lived in Bangalore and belonged to a Kannada Brahmins community. At the tender age of 3, Devi’s father, Mr. Sudhararaja Rao, discovered her mathematical talent during a card trick. Later, he has also taken Devi for roadshows to demonstrate her mathematical skills in schools and colleges.
At the age of 6, Devi has performed her arithmetic skills at the University of Mysore. She has achieved all these without any formal education. Thus, her tours to different parts of the world began and made her a world-famous Indian mathematician.
People who attended her shows would randomly ask her numbers to calculate or find the day with the date provided. Her answers were always perfect and faster than they would expect. Many people at the top universities wondered, “How Shakuntala Devi Calculates?”.
Devi’s greatest passion for calculating complex numbers has taken her to many unique places around the globe. She demonstrated her arithmetic abilities before many students and motivated young minds to discover mathematics’s beauty and simplicity.
Interesting Facts about the mathematical prodigy
Devi did not like the title of Human-Computer given to her. She stated that the human brain’s ability is far greater than a computer and should never compare both.
In the year 1980, she contested in the election for the parliament seat in two different localities against Indira Gandhi and lost. Devi has been a respected personal astrologer to many politicians, movie stars, and business personnel.
A movie titled “Shakuntala Devi” has been created based on her life. Released in the year 2020, and it showcased the life of Shakuntala Devi and captured her indomitable spirit.
When did Shakuntala Devi die?
Shakuntala Devi’s demise has been a massive loss to the field of mathematics in India. The fantastic journey of mathematical prowess, respected astrologer, inspirational author, and an honorable individual ended on 21st April 2013.
She passed away due to cardiac and respiratory failure. Before that, she also had kidney and heart complications. People will always remember her spell bonded calculations and inspirational spirit.
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It might never be enough to know the fantastic talents of Shakuntala Devi. Her skills, accuracy, and fastness seem like an unbelievable story, but let me assure you that she was an extremely talented Indian mathematician who made the impossible calculation by humans possible.
If you need to know more about her life journey or are interested in her books, please let us know. Sharing the inspiration and motivational thoughts mentioned by Shakuntala Devi in her speeches and books would be our pleasure.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What were the famous puzzles by shaktuntala devi.
- Tall Men Next Door
- Brothers and Sisters
- Matter of Time
- Bicycle thieves
What are the famous books written by Shakuntala Devi?
- Puzzles to Puzzle You
- Figuring the Joy Of Numbers
- Book Of Numbers
Shakuntala Devi Essay in English
Shakuntala Devi Essay in English , Shakuntala Devi was a famous personality in India. She was an Indian writer. She was also known as a mathematical genius and a human-computer. She was well-known for making complicated mathematical calculations in her mind. She instantly came out with the results without any trouble. Born on 4 November 1929, she belonged to a family in southern India.
She was the daughter of a circus performer. This is why she began displaying her skills at an early age. Her father recognized her in the form of a child prodigy. This is why he started taking her on roadshows, where she showed her ability to calculate easily.
Essay On Shakuntala Devi
There are many amazing things about Shakuntala Devi. One of them is that she did not get any formal education because of the poor financial condition of her family. But still, she had the most brilliant mind and she used it in the calculation of mathematics.
Due to her phenomenal ability to do the most complex mathematical calculations with no use of technology or any other thing, she became popular. Eventually, she turned out to be a global phenomenon.
A professor of psychology, Arthur Jensen, at the University of California, Berkeley, examined and studied her abilities. This is why he decided to publish his findings of Shakuntala Devi in the academic journal named Intelligence.
It was her extraordinary abilities, which also let her earn a place in the 1982 edition of ‘The Guinness Book of World Records.’ Another amazing thing about Shakuntala Devi is that she had also written many children’s books and worked on puzzles, mathematics, and astrology.
Also Read: Kamarajar Essay in English
Her childhood and early life
Her family was an orthodox family and a Kannada-based Brahmin family. Her father rebelled against his traditional family to follow this unconventional profession rather than becoming an astrologer or priest as his forefathers had been.
Her father was a traveling magician. Even, her father did not have the funds to let her educate. As per an anecdote, Shakuntala Devi began playing card games with her father when she was just 3 years. It was her father, who understood that this little girl got success in all the games against him.
Every day, she defeated her father in games, but her father suspected her of cheating. This is why he closely studied her when she used to play. He realized that she was capable of memorizing all the card numbers along with their sequence as the game proceeded in the initial rounds. In the next rounds, she used this knowledge to win the game.
Once he found that his daughter had a special ability as a gift from God, he decided to take her on tours while traveling. In shows, Shakuntala Devi was efficient to show her calculation ability. It led her to gain attention in the world and was capable of earning sufficient money for her father.
Slowly and slowly, she got popular in the whole world because of her brilliant ability. This is why she began appearing at universities located in the southern part of India. When she was 6 years old, she displayed her abilities to the faculty of the University of Mysore.
She also visited other universities, where she displayed her abilities such as the Annamalai University, Osmania University, and the varsities of Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad.
Later years
As time passed on, Shakuntala Devi became a world-popular personality. Her name started to recall everywhere in the world. In 1944, she moved to London with her father. She traveled all over the world and showed her skills in many countries like Hong King, the USA, Japan, Canada, Italy, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Spain, France, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
In 1955, Shakuntala Devi appeared on a BBC show, where she solved a complex mathematical problem given by the host Leslie Mitchell. She solved this problem in just a few seconds. However, she was told that she gave an incorrect answer, which was different from what the host with his team had calculated.
Then, the host rechecked the answer and came to know about the answer given by Shakuntala Devi was current and the original answer was not right. This is how the news spread like a fire all over the world. This way, she got the title of the ‘Human-Computer.’
Shakuntala Devi was often invited by a number of educational centers. She went to the Southern Methodist University located in the United States of America in 1977. At that time, she was asked to perform a calculation for the 23rd root of a 201-digit number.
She took just 50 seconds to solve this mathematical problem. The time taken by a professor to write down the problem on the board was 4 minutes and a Univac computer took more than a minute to give this answer. But she just took a few minutes, everyone was amazed at her.
Contribution Of Shakuntala Devi
Along with being a mathematician, Shakuntala Devi was also a brilliant and successful astrologer. She authored a lot of books on the subject. Additionally, Shakuntala Devi also wrote texts on mathematics for puzzles and children.
‘The World of Homosexuals’ was the most significant book written by Shakuntala Devi in 1977, which is the first complete study of homosexuality in India. She got the inspiration to write this book from her husband as she realized that he was a homosexual. This is the reason why she researched a lot and worked closely on homosexuality.
Shakuntala Devi began the Shakuntala Devi Education Foundation Public Trust. The motive of this trust is to give quality education to kids who come from underprivileged backgrounds. It was she, who made hard efforts to spread global awareness about the contribution of India towards the subject of mathematics.
In 1960, Shakuntala Devi was awarded at the University of Philippines with the title of ‘The Most Distinguished Woman of the Year.’ she also received an award named ‘Ramanujan Mathematical Genius’ in Washington D.C in 1988. She died on 21 April 2013. Shakuntala Devi was a popular figure in Indian history and was honored with a Google Doodle.
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