Shakunthala Devi - Human Computer

Shakunthala Devi - Human Computer

Country         :  India
Period            :  Born   :  4th November 1929                   
                      :  Died    :  21st April 1923
Place             :  Bengaluru
Age               :  83  years
Spouse          :  Mr. Paritosh Banerji
Title-Award   :  Human Computer

Shakuntala Devi was a calculating child prodigy who was born on November 4, 1939 in Bangalore, India.  Her calculating talents first known while she was doing card tricks with her father when she was three.  Shakuntala Devi was born in Bangalore, India to an orthodox  priestly Brahmin family.  At the age of three she manifested an extraordinary love for numbers and by the time she was five years old, Shakuntala became an expert in Complex Mental Arithmetic. With a divine skill in numbers from the age of three, she has been stunning the whole world with her uncanny skill in computing the most intricate problems mentally, even quicker than the highly sophisticated computers in the world.

Hailed as a “Human Computer” because of her extraordinary talents in solving complex mathematical problems.  Shakuntala Devi also found her place in the Guinness Book of World Records.  She has astonished scientists across the world by her capacity to solve mathematical problems in a jiffy without any mechanical aid.  Usually these complex mathematical calculations are carried at lightning speed on computers.  It can be said that Shakuntala Devi is Blessed with God’s Gift.  Apart from mathematical problems, she is utilizing her amazing talent in the field of astrology.

She was born with this extraordinary talent as from the very childhood; she used to solve arithmetical problems orally in no time.   Manifested an extraordinary love for numbers at the age of 3, she became an expert in complex mental arithmetic at 5.  She had not even the formal education.  On the other hand her father took her to different places to exhibit her prowess.  Soon, her reputation spread all over the country and finally her fame crossed the borders of the country.  Today, she is acclaimed as an accomplished mathematician.  By age six she demonst rated her calculation and memorization abilities at the University of Mysore. At the age of eight she performed her unique gift at the Annamalai University in Southern India and the then Vice Chancellor of the University Rt Hon. V.S. Srinivasa Shastriar P.C., CH, LX.D. called her a “living wonder”. Around the same time she performed in the Osmania University in Hyderabad and the Vizag University. Soon Shakuntala, who displayed her talents to gatherings of distinguished people all over India, came to be acclaimed as a Child Prodigy.   

BBC London, invited her to give her demonstration on television.  Many other countries also invited her.  She was asked very complex questions, solvable by computers only.  But, Shakuntala Devi never faltered and gave the answer after mental calculations.  On June 18, 1980, Shakuntala Devi gave a product of two thirteen-digit figures after multiplying them within only 28 seconds.  The figures were 1894766817799 and 5426462773730, asked by the computer department of Imperial College, London.  In 1976, she amazed the US scientists by giving immediate answers to complex arithmetical problems by her conventional approach.  Shakuntala Devi has delighted world audiences with her lightning-fast computation and her infectious enthusiasm and love for numbers.

Still in her early ages, Shakuntala sailed to Europe in 1950. In London on the 5th of October, 1950, the BBC presented Shakuntala to the viewers of Great Britain. Shakuntala gave quick answers to problems posed by the BBC, but when further questions were given, she challenged the problem as set and said it was worked out wrongly. Mr. Leslie Mitchell, the BBC's interviewer did some quick checking and confessed that Shakuntala was right and the BBC wrong!

At the University of Rome one of her answers to the problems was found to be wrong by the calculating machine, but after re-checking it was found that the machine had made the mistake and not Shakuntala!
In Sydney, Australia, Shakuntala matched her wits against their most sophisticated Computer at that time, "UTECOM" of the University of New South Wales. Questions were set by the then well known Professors Mr. R.G. Smart and Mr. Barry Thornton, the Chief Mathematicians, Seconds before the questions were fed to the computer, Shakuntala had the answers. "It's frightening" remarked Mr. Thornton. Throughout her tours around the world, Shakuntala has performed in Universities, Colleges, Schools, Theatres, and on Television with great distinction. In England on the 27th of September 1973, Shakuntala appeared on the BBC programme "Nationwide" with the distinguished Bob Wellings on the popular ITV programme "Today" and the Televiewers of Great Britain were left in a daze by the "mind-collapsing" performance of Shakuntala Devi. She has received accolades and high letters of appreciation from all these Universities. Shakuntala Devi has also performed in the World Bank - Washington D.C. and the United Nation in the year 1977.

Universities of various countries in which she has performed:
India:
Mysore University –Bangalore, Osmania University – Hyderabad,
Vizag University, Annamalai University, Benares Hindu University
England:
University of Leeds – Yorkshire, Kings College of London, Surrey University,  
University of London, University of Manchester, University of Birmingham
USA:
Southern Methodist university - Dallas, Texas,
USC - University of Southern California - Los Angeles,
UCLA - University of California - LosAngeles, Staynford University – California,
Lehigh University in Pennsylvania,
Columbia University - New York, Princeton University - New Jersey,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Boston,   
George Washington University - Washington DC,
Georgia University - Atlanta Georgia,   
State University of Pennsylvania,
Buffalo University and many others in the USA
Canada:
MC Gill University – Montreal, University of Toronto,
MC Master University, York University – Toronto
Australia:
University of New South Wales – Sydney, University of Melbourne
Japan:
Tokyo University

And numerous other universities and schools around the world Awards Received
•   The most distinguished Woman of the year in 1969 at the University of Philippines and a Gold Medal.
•     Ramanujan Mathematical Genius Award in Washington D.C. handed over by the then Ambassador of India in the USA in the year 1988.
There are also various other awards.

Books Authored by MS. SHAKUNTALA DEVI
In 2006 she has released a new book called In the Wonderland of Numbers with Orient Paperbacks which talks about a girl Neha and her fascination for numbers.

In April 2013, Devi was admitted to a hospital in Bengaluru with respiratory problems. Over the following two weeks she suffered from complications of the heart and kidneys.  She died in the hospital on 21 April 2013. She was 83 years old. She is survived by her daughter, Anupama Banerji.

On 4 November 2013, Devi was honoured with a Google Doodle for what would have been her 84th birthday.