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Shakuntala Devi (Human Computer) Wiki, Age, Biography, Husband, Career, Personal Life, Family & More
Shakuntala Devi was a famous Indian mathematician and writer. She was an expert at doing the most difficult mathematical calculations with her mind. That’s why Shakuntala Devi is also popular with the name “Human Computer”, her brain was faster than the computer. Her extraordinary skills have earned her a place in “The Guinness Book of World Records.”
Birth and family
Shakuntala Devi was born on November 4, 1929 in Bengaluru. She was born into a poor family in South India. She was the daughter of a circus performer. At the age of 3, Shakuntala began to demonstrate her great skills with numbers, something impossible for any common man, and when she turned 5, she also began to solve cube root problems.
Biography
| Real name | Shakuntala Devi |
| Nickname | Shakuntalá |
| famous as | human computer |
| Profession | Writer and mathematician |
| Birthdate | November 4, 1929 |
| place of birth | Bengaluru, Mysore State |
| Death | April 21, 2013 |
| Age | 83 (At the time of death) |
| death cause | Heart attack |
| place of death | Bengaluru, Karnataka (at home) |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Native city | Bengaluru, Karnataka |
| Family | Mother: Not known Father: Not known (Circus artist) Sister: None Brother: None Husband: Paritosh Banerjee (d. 1960-1979; IAS Officer) Daughter: Anupama Banerjee |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Awards | 1. Most Distinguished Woman of the Year by the University of the Philippines (1969)2. Ramanujan Award for mathematical genius (1988)3. Recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award (2013) |
Education
Shakuntala belongs to a poor family. He could not even get a formal education due to the dire financial situation of his family, but he visited several universities in South India. When he was 6 years old, he demonstrated his mathematical art at the University of Mysore. Furthermore, he demonstrated his skills at Annamalai University, Osmania University and the Universities of Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. In 1944 he gained international recognition and moved to London with his father.
Career
After arriving in London, he became an internationally known name. He traveled to many countries, including the United States, Hong Kong, Japan, Sri Lanka, Italy, Canada, Russia, France, Spain, Mauritius, Indonesia and Malaysia, and demonstrated his expertise in mathematics.
Shakuntala had mastered his mathematical skills to such an extent that, in January 1977, he was asked to calculate the 23rd root of a 201-digit number at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, USA. He solved it in just 50 seconds, while it took the professor 4 minutes to write this problem, and he also got help from the fastest computer UNIVAC (at that time), it took him more than a minute to answer this problem correctly. The correct answer was ‘546372891’. With this answer Shakuntala surpassed the 62 seconds and 13,000 instructions of the fastest computer, UNIVAC.
Shakuntala Devi was remembered for her multiplication of the 13-digit number chosen at random on June 18, 1980, these numbers were ‘7,686,369,774,870 x 2,465,099,745,779’. These numbers were chosen by the Computing Department at Imperial College London, whose correct answer was ‘18,947,668,177,995,426,462.7 73,730’. Shakuntala Devi gave an answer in just 28 seconds. Her arithmetic talent earned her a place in the “Guinness Book of Records” in 1982.
Personal life
Shakuntala Devi was from a conservative Kannada Brahmin family. Her father was a circus performer. There is not much specific information available about her mother and her siblings. Shakuntala married Paritosh Banerjee, an Indian Administrative Service officer from Calcutta in 1960. They divorced in 1979 due to personal reasons. The couple has a daughter named Anupama Banerjee.
Death
Shakuntala Devi died on April 21, 2013 at the age of 83 in Bengaluru due to heart and respiratory problems. India’s first mathematician breathed her last in her hometown, Bangalore.
Some facts about Shakuntala Devi
- Shakuntala Devi was a genius who had influenced people since she was three years old.
- Shakuntala also studied in a nun’s school for 3 months and was later expelled for not paying school fees.
- She was expert in solving complex algorithms and Vedic mathematics with multiplication, division, square and cube root calculations as well as arithmetic problems due to her magnificent mathematical artistry.
- Shakuntala could beat even some of the fastest computers available at that time. Among her many feats, the most notable of hers are those that included her in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1995.
- On 5 October 1950, Shakuntala was a guest on the BBC program where presenter Leslie Mitchell asked her a difficult mathematics question. Shakuntala solved that question in a few seconds, but the host said that her answer was wrong because Shakuntala’s answer did not match the answer that the team extracted from her. Later, the host realized that Shakuntala’s answer was correct. After spreading this story around the world, she was named “Human Computer.”
- It is known by the name human computer but never liked the title. She said: “The human brain has incomparable ability compared to the computer and it is not appropriate to compare the human brain with the computer.”
- In 1977 he wrote ‘The World of Homosexuals’, one of his most important books. This was the first comprehensive study on homosexuality in India.
- She was also a successful astrologer and wrote several books on the subject. She also wrote several texts on mathematics, puzzles, cookbooks, and children’s novels.
- Shakuntala Devi was chosen as the most prestigious woman of the year by the University of the Philippines in 1969.
- He received the Ramanujan Award for Talent in Mathematics in 1988 at an event in Washington DC.
- Shakuntala was also an active philanthropist. She also started the Shakuntala Devi Education Foundation Public Trust to provide a good education to young children. He has also worked to spread global awareness about India’s contribution to mathematics.
- In 2013 he received the award Lifetime Achievement Award a month before his death.
- On November 4, 2013, Shakuntala was honored by Google Doodle for her achievements on her 84th birthday.
- In 2020, a biopic based on her life, ‘Shakuntala Devi’, in which Bollywood actress Vidya Balan played her character, was released on Amazon Prime.
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Categories: Biography
Source: vtt.edu.vn