Born: 1929 (Bangalore, Karnataka)
Died: 2013
Biography:
Shakuntala Devi (4 November 1929 – 21 April 2013) was an Indian mental calculator and writer, popularly known as the Human Computer. Her extraordinary talent for mental calculations earned her a place in the 1982 edition of The Guinness Book of World Records. Despite achieving her world record on 18 June 1980 at Imperial College, London, the certificate for the record was given posthumously on 30 July 2020. Devi was a prodigious child, demonstrating her incredible arithmetic abilities at a very young age, without any formal education. Throughout her life, she strove to simplify numerical calculations for students, thereby making mathematics more accessible and enjoyable for all.
Born on 4 November 1929 in Bangalore, Karnataka, Devi belonged to a Kannada Brahmin family. Her father, C V Sundararaja Rao, was a multifaceted performer, working as a trapeze artist, lion tamer, tightrope walker, and magician in a circus. It was during one of his card tricks that he discovered his daughter’s exceptional ability to memorize numbers when she was just three years old. Fascinated by her talent, he left the circus and showcased her ability for calculating complex mathematical problems on road shows across the country. Remarkably, Devi achieved this without any formal education.
At the age of six, Shakuntala Devi demonstrated her arithmetic abilities at the University of Mysore, leaving experts astonished. Her incredible mental calculations were not limited to India alone; she embarked on a tour of Europe in 1950 and even visited New York City in 1976 to showcase her talents. In 1988, she traveled to the United States to have her abilities studied by Arthur Jensen, a renowned professor of educational psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. Jensen presented her with challenging problems, including the calculation of large numbers such as the cube root of 61,629,875 and the seventh root of 170,859,375. Astonishingly, Devi provided the correct solutions (395 and 15, respectively) before Jensen had a chance to write them down. Jensen published his findings in the academic journal Intelligence in 1990, further establishing Devi’s exceptional mental abilities.
One of the most remarkable demonstrations of Devi’s mental calculation skills occurred in 1977 at Southern Methodist University, where she accurately provided the 23rd root of a 201-digit number in an astonishing 50 seconds. Her answer, 546,372,891, was verified by calculations performed by the UNIVAC 1101 computer at the US Bureau of Standards. A special program had to be written for the computer to perform such a large calculation, which took longer than Devi’s own mental calculation.
In addition to her astounding mental calculation abilities, Shakuntala Devi was also a prolific writer. She authored numerous books, including novels, mathematical texts, puzzles, astrology, and even a groundbreaking work on homosexuality titled The World of Homosexuals. Published in 1977, her book was the first comprehensive study of homosexuality in India. Devi approached the topic with openness and positivity, presenting homosexuality in a favorable light. Her work in this field earned her the status of a pioneer, contributing significantly to the understanding and acceptance of homosexuality in Indian society.
Shakuntala Devi’s contributions to the fields of mathematics, mental calculation, and human rights were truly remarkable. Her ability to simplify complex calculations made mathematics more accessible to students, while her book on homosexuality broke barriers and fostered understanding. Devi’s legacy continues to inspire generations, and she will forever be remembered as an iconic figure in the history of women’s accomplishments.
Awards:
– Guinness World Records: Listed in the 1982 edition for her extraordinary mental calculation abilities.
– Posthumously awarded the certificate for her Guinness World Record achievement in mental calculation, received on 30 July 2020.