Shakuntala Devi was an Indian mathematician who achieved fame for her ability to perform complex mental calculations at incredible speeds. She began demonstrating her mathematical abilities at age 6 and toured internationally in the 1950s and 1970s to showcase her skills. Devi held the Guinness World Record for "Fastest Human Computation" and was able to perform complex calculations like cube roots and large number exponents rapidly in her head. She authored several books and also worked as an astrologer later in life.
2. MS SHAKUNTALA
DEVI
[INDIAN
MATHEMATICIAN]
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Very few people around the world
archived what this wonder-women did.
A Mathematical prodigy, also known
as
The ‘human computer’, MS.
Shakuntala Devi was known for her
complex problem-solving without the
aid of any Mechanical Devices.
3. Birth
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She was born in Hindu family in
Bangalore on November 4, 1929 when
she was just three years old, her
father discovered that she had an
amazing ability to memorize numbers.
He quit the Circus Company where he
was working and gave road shows
projecting talent of his daughter in
calculating. Right at the age of six,
shakuntala Devi proved her arithmetic
capabilities in the University of
Mysore, she moved to London with her
father in 1944
University of Mysore
4. Personal life
In the 1960s, after returning to India,
Shakuntala Devi married an IAS Officer
Paritosh Banerji. The couple divorced in
the year 1979. The couple has a daughter-
- Anupama Banerjee. Shakuntala
contested 1980 Lok Sabha elections as an
independent candidate from Mumbai
South and from Medak. In Medak, she
contested against Indira Gandhi and lost
the elections. Apart from her arithmetic
love, Shakuntla Devi was an astrologer
and authored several books.
Ms. Shakuntala Devi began to give public
demonstrations of her math skills at the age of just six.
Apart from mentally calculating complex equations in
seconds, if given a date in the last century, she could
also mentally ascertain the day.
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5. Arithmetic Abilities and
Fame
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In 1950, Shakuntala Devi toured Europe to demonstrate her
arithmetic skills. In 1976, she gave another performance in
New York. In the year 1988, Shakuntala Devi visited
professor Arthur Jensen in the US to get her abilities tested.
Arthur Jensen was a professor of psychology at the
University of California, Berkeley.
In 1990, in an academic journal, Jenson published his
findings of Shakuntala Devi. He reported that calculations
like cube root of 61,629,875 and the seventh root of
170,859,375 were given to her to solve the problem which she
solved before Jensen could copy them down in his notebook.
In the year 1977, Shakuntala at the Southern Methodist
University gave the 23rd root of a 201-digit number in 5o
seconds. The answer 546,372,891 was calculated by the US
Bureau of Standards by the UNIVAC 1101 computer. A
special program was written to calculate such a large root.
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6. Facts She applied her mathematical
strength to a pursuit of astrology.
She once tried to forge a path into
politics.
She wrote a novel.
She was an ally of L.G.B.T.Q. people.
Devi holds the Guinness World
Record for “Fastest Human
Computation.”
Shakuntala Devi had opened
Shakuntala Devi Educational
Foundation Public Trust To aid the
underprivileged kids to attain
Quality education.
A biopic on her life is slated to release
in 2020 in which Bollywood actress,
Vidya Balan will be portraying her
character.
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7. Awards and
recognition
Most distinguish women of the
year by the university of
Philippines in [1969]
Ramanujan Mathematical
Genius Award in Washington
D.C [1988]
Awarded the Lifetime
Achievement Award one month
prior to her death
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8. Legacy
On 4 November 2013, Devi was
honored with a Google Doodle on
what would have been her 84th
birthday.
A film on her life titled Shakuntala
Devi was announced in May
2019.[30][31] The film stars Vidya
Balan in the lead role and features
Sanya Malhotra, Amit Sadh, and
Jisshu Sengupta. Produced by
Sony Pictures Networks
Productions, the film streamed
worldwide on 31 July 2020.
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