Shakuntala Devi is an Indian writer and mathematical genius. She is known as “the human machine” because she can perform complex mathematical calculations in her head and speak the results effortlessly. Her extraordinary abilities earned her a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Wiki/Biography
Shakuntala Devi was born in Bangalore on Monday, November 4, 1929 (age 83; died 2013). Her zodiac sign is Scorpio. Due to her family’s poverty, she was unable to receive formal education.
Shakuntala began to show some advanced numerical skills at the age of three, and by the time she was five, she could calculate cube roots. Her father discovered her ability to memorize numbers and took her on tours and road shows to demonstrate her numeracy abilities. Soon, she gained widespread attention and started making money from her talent. Shakuntala then visited various universities in southern India. At the age of six, she showcased her skills at the University of Mysore. Additionally, she has showcased her skills at Annamalai University, Osmania University, Hyderabad University and Visakhapatnam University. In 1944 she gained international recognition and moved to London with her father.
die
Shakuntala died on April 21, 2013 (at the age of 83) due to respiratory, heart and kidney problems.
appearance
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family, caste and husband
Shakuntala Devi belonged to an orthodox Kannada Brahmin family. Her father was a circus performer. Little is known about her mother and siblings. Shakuntala married Paritosh Banerjee, an Indian Administrative Service officer from Calcutta, in 1960. They divorced in 1979. The couple has a daughter, Anupama Banerjee.
Shakuntala Devi and Anupama Banerjee
Profession
In 1944, Shakuntala became an international figure and traveled to various countries including the United States, Hong Kong, Japan, Sri Lanka, Italy, Canada, Russia, France, Spain, Mauritius, Indonesia and Malaysia to demonstrate her mathematical expertise. Shakuntala is best remembered for calculating the multiplication of two randomly selected 13-digit numbers: 7,686,369,774,870 × 2,465,099,745,779. She answered correctly in 28 seconds. Her arithmetic talents earned her entry into the Guinness Book of World Records in 1982.
Shakuntala Devi as a young man
Shakuntala’s mathematical talent reached such a high level that when she was asked to calculate the 23rd root of a 201-digit number at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, she solved it in just 50 seconds. Others took 4 minutes. The professor wrote down the problem and it took the Univac computer more than a minute to solve it.
Shakuntala Devi solves math problems
She is also a successful astrologer and has written many books on the subject. She has also written numerous articles on children’s mathematics, puzzles, cookbooks, and novels. In 1977 she wrote “The Gay World,” one of her most important books. This is the first comprehensive study on homosexuality in India.
Shakuntala Devi’s book on homosexuality
Shakuntala is also an active philanthropist. She started the Shakuntala Devi Educational Foundation Public Trust to provide good education to underprivileged children. She is also committed to creating global awareness of India’s contribution to mathematics.
Shakuntala Devi’s Trust
dispute
Against astrology and future predictions
Shakuntala Devi’s astrology and future prediction practices were opposed by Indian social reformer, rationalist and author Shyam Manav, who was also a Maharaja National Convener of the Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti, an organization dedicated to combating superstition in the state of Sri Lanka. An FIR was lodged on May 25, 1985 against Shakuntala Devi for future prediction practices. According to Manav, Shakuntala once used an advertisement that read:
“God can calculate the right destiny, and so can Shakuntala Devi.”
Manav called Shakuntala Devi a “liar” in a YouTube video, claiming that he and his team had proved her predictions inaccurate, which led to Shakuntala canceling her participation in Maharashtra An event in Rabat Nagpur.
Awards and Honors
- University of the Philippines Most Outstanding Woman of the Year (1969)
- Ramanujan Mathematical Genius Award, Washington, D.C. (1988)
- Received a Lifetime Achievement Award a month before her death (2013)
Facts/Trivia
- Her father became a circus performer, specializing in trapeze, tightrope walking, lion taming and the human cannonball act, contrary to the family’s clerical tradition.
- On November 4, 2013, on her 84th birthday, Shakuntala was honored with a Google Doodle Award for her achievements.
Shakuntala Devi’s Google Doodle
- Arthur Jensen, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, conducted an in-depth study of her abilities. He published his findings in an academic journal titled Intelligence.
- Shakuntala claimed that she attended a convent school when she was 10 years old, but was expelled within three months of admission because her parents could not afford the school fees.
- Shakuntala appeared on the BBC show where host Leslie Mitchell asked her to solve a complex maths problem. She solved the problem within seconds, but the host claimed that the answer was incorrect because it was different from what the host and his entire team had calculated. However, it was later discovered that Devi’s answer was correct, while the answer calculated by the host and his team was wrong. The news spread around the world, and she was dubbed “The Human Computer.”
- Actress Vidya Balan has been roped in to play Shakuntala Devi in her biopic, which is expected to release in 2020.
Vidya Balan to play Shakuntala Devi in the film
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education