Shakuntala Devi, ‘Human Computer’, Dies at 80
Posted by Michelle Moquin on April 23rd, 2013
Good morning!
A write from NDTV:
Shakuntala Devi, ‘human computer’, dies at 80
Bangalore: Mathematical genius Shakuntala Devi died at a hospital in Bangalore today following respiratory problems. She was 80.
“She passed away at Bangalore Hospital,” Shakuntala Devi Educational Foundation Public Trust Trustee D C Shivadev told PTI. Doctors declared her dead at 8.15 AM, he said.
She was hospitalised a couple of weeks ago for critical respiratory problems, Shivadev said. “She developed heart and kidney problems later,” he added.
Shakuntala Devi found a slot in the Guinness Book of World Record for her outstanding ability and wrote numerous books like ‘Fun with Numbers’, ‘Astrology for You’, ‘Puzzles to Puzzle You’, and ‘Mathablit’. She had the ability to tell the day of the week of any given date in the last century in a jiffy.
She was nicknamed “human computer” for her ability to make complex mental calculations.
Coming from a humble family, Shakuntala Devi’s father was a circus performer who did trapeze, tightrope and cannonball shows.
It was while she was playing cards with her father at the tender age of three that he found his daughter’s calculation abilities. It turned out that she beat him not by sleight of hand, but by memorising the cards.
At the age of six, she demonstrated her calculation skills in her first major public performance at the University of Mysore and two years later, she again proved herself successful as a child prodigy at Annamalai University.
However, despite apprehensions in some quarters, Shakuntala Devi did not lose her calculating ability when she turned adult like other prodigies such as Truman Henry Safford.
In 1977, Shakuntala Devi extracted the 23rd root of a 201-digit number mentally.
On June 18, 1980 she demonstrated the multiplication of two 13-digit numbers 7,686,369,774,870 x 2,465,099,745,779 picked at random by the Computer Department of Imperial College, London. She answered the question in 28 seconds.
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Readers: Amazing! May Devi rest in peace.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
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April 23rd, 2013 at 7:15 am
Fantastic article Michelle, Shakuntala has always been a heroine of mine.
April 23rd, 2013 at 12:42 pm
RIP Devi
Karen, forgot # fr yesterday, right on, yes, let’s sequester and have curfews for MEN, clearly they are the people that cannot control all that testosterone so let’s just reign em’ in and take care of the problem.
Hi Misch : ) long time no chat, maybe sometime next week?
Luv, Zen Lill
April 24th, 2013 at 4:53 am
This women was a genius and Hindu the paper is saying just that. Shakuntala Devi was a prodigy and we wish we all were as smart.
April 24th, 2013 at 4:56 am
RIP Shakuntla devi
People with this ability are not geniuses. The calculating is
performed by their brain unconsciously. They don’t themselves have a clue how their mind does it.
It’s the same when you ask people with the ability to name the day of a particular date well in the future or past and they do it with 100% accuracy in seconds.
And because of this she could never explain how she does that and the reason for this is that she don’t know herself. It’s just that she was fortunate enough to be able to put it to the conscious state from the subconscious state.
The human brain is still tons of better then any available
computer.
And that’s why she was astrologer not mathematician. Srinivasa
Ramanujan was a great or in fact would have been greatest
mathematician had he lived more.
April 24th, 2013 at 4:57 am
She also wrote a book on the need to accept homosexuality in India, but of course none of her obits mention that.
April 24th, 2013 at 4:57 am
The talent that was really wasted. May be lack of opportunities but she could have used her talent for higher contribution in field of Maths. Instead it was left to learn calculation and from last advertisement I saw on TV she was using her talent for astrology.
Wished she and as a society we should have found a better use of her talent then we might have a noble laurate between us.
April 24th, 2013 at 5:00 am
Michelle thanks for the article. She was a role model to Hindu women. Your article got her age wrong though. She was 83.
April 24th, 2013 at 5:02 am
we mssed a genius… bhagwan unki aatma ko shanti de….
April 24th, 2013 at 5:03 am
What a loss!!!!! I pray the Almighty to make the mathematical soul to rest in peace and make it take birth again in Karnataka India.
April 24th, 2013 at 5:03 am
With her gone, now we just have Humans and Computers.
April 24th, 2013 at 5:04 am
So, Howie, what’s happening on Guam?
April 24th, 2013 at 5:05 am
My dream of working with the legendary figure, renowned human computer Ms Shankuntala Devi came true on April 2011 when I started working with her as her secretary /assistant in Bangalore for 10 days and in WEST INDIES for 23 days.
Hats off to her for her Mathematical skills, to which I was a witness while conducting mathematical shows which she always did spontaneously, because she knows her stuff like no one else.
How could any one explain the child prodigy that she was ? Even at the tender age of 3 years? And until now at age of !!!!!!! undiminished smartness and enthusiasm.
She is highly disciplined in life or in doing things or in her personal habits.Very fast in doing things â?¦being junior to her, I was always wondering how can she be so fast â?¦while cooking, while taking decision,Writing letters whatever for that matter â?¦ some magic.. even in her hands ,that is what I was always felt.
Though there was 35+ year difference between us She was always telling me that we are of the same age Shobha�� this is to explain how she maintained her mindset of being young .She always thinks and believes that she is forever young.
This I think is also one of her secrets. Many a times I have argued with her regarding astrology..I disagreed with her many times regarding thisâ?¦ May her Soul rest in peace It is really great loss to the country
April 24th, 2013 at 5:07 am
2013A great loss for Indians. She was India’s gem and genius. May God bless her soul.
April 24th, 2013 at 5:07 am
Greaat Loss!!! Her Photo Graph is the cover page for my Eight Standard Maths Book.May her soul rest in peace.
April 24th, 2013 at 5:09 am
had witnessed the capabilities of this genius lady when she had come to my school back in the 80′s. the students would ask her a sum and she would start engrossing us in other talks but at the same time would be putting her grey cells to work to give us the answer of the sum and that too within seconds. It is indeed a great loss. May her soul rest in peace.
April 24th, 2013 at 5:10 am
We used to pass near her house in bangalore. it’s a great loss. we love her and may almightly show mercy on her.
April 24th, 2013 at 5:11 am
I remember my mother telling me that Shakuntala Devi had once come to her school in India back in the seventies and she came there since the school requested her presence so that she could display her unique talent to the children.
Every child in the school was given a chance to challenge her with the most complex calculation they could think of and she was able to give the answers to all the kids in a matter of seconds no matter how complimcated the caluclation was. She was a genius in the true sense!!
April 24th, 2013 at 5:11 am
t was a real loss for all Indians, we missed such a genius for our future generation. May the almighty rest your soul in peace Madam.
June 12th, 2013 at 4:56 am
This is very much interesting. Thanks for sharing this useful information.
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