Ms. Shakunthala devi

MS.SHAKUNTALA DEVI

               Very few people around the world achieved what this wonder-woman did. A mathematical  prodigy, also known as the 'human computer', MS.SHAKUNTALA DEVI was known for her complex problem-solving skills without the aid of any mechanical  device.

BIRTH AND FAMILY BACKGROUND

   

• MS.SHAKUNTALA DEVI  is a calculating prodigy  who was born on November 4, 1939 in Bangalore, India. She was born in a kannada orthodox family.
•   Her father refused to become a priest and instead, wanted to entertain others as a tight-rope walker. He thus became a circus artist and 3-year-old MS.SHAKUNTALA used to accompany him to the circus and often come back mesmerized with her interesting card tricks that initiated her love for numbers.

CHILD PRODIGY  

            News of her ability to solve difficult mathematical problems soon spread like wildfire. By the age of 6, she had her first major show at the University of Mysore where she displayed her mathematical prowess by finding out complex square roots and cube roots within a few seconds. After a few more similar performances, she found success at Annamalai University at the age of 8, when she was finally acknowledged as a 'child prodigy’. 

ACHIEVEMENT

In 1977, at Southern Methodist University, she was asked to give the 23rd root of a 201-digit number; she answered in 50 seconds. Her answer—546,372,891—was confirmed by calculations done at the U.S. Bureau of Standards by the UNIVAC 1101 computer, for which a special program had to be written to perform such a large calculation.

   

On June 18, 1980, she demonstrated the multiplication of two 13-digit numbers—7,686,369,774,870 × 2,465,099,745,779—picked at random by the Computer Department of Imperial College, London. She correctly answered 18,947,668,177,995,426,462,773,730 in 28 seconds This event is mentioned in the 1982 Guinness Book of Records. Writer Steven Smith states that the result is "so far superior to anything previously reported that it can only be described as unbelievable".   She was popularly known as human computer.

AWARDS  RECEIVED

   

MS.SHAKUNTALA DEVI won the 'Distinguished Woman of the Year Award' in 1969, from the University of Philippines along with a gold medal.

 

In 1988, she was honored with the 'Ramanujan Mathematical Genius Award' in Washington D.C., conferred to her by the-then Indian Ambassador to US.

  Her name was listed in the '1995 Guinness Book of World Records' edition for her outstanding mathematical feat where she beat the world's fastest computer at multiplying two thirteen digit numbers.

  A month before her death, she was honored with the 'Lifetime Achievement Award' in Mumbai, in 2013.

MAJOR WORKS

   

      'Puzzles to Puzzle You' is considered one of MS.SHAKUNTALA DEVI's best works for aspiring and budding mathematicians. Critics have rated this book as one of the best reads for people who want to excel in the field of mathematics and master the secrets of the subject. A book meant for starters, this publication sold over 6,000 copies in its first week and continues to be an inspiration for many.

 DEATH OF HUMAN COMPUTER

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

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

THE TALENT OF MS.SHAKUNTALA DEVI

 This famous Indian mathematician and 'Child Prodigy' never attended school in her younger days, but grew up to become one of the greatest mathematicians and authored a number of books on mathematics.

   

In Rome, a calculating machine found one of her answers to be wrong. However, after re-checking the answer, the solution given by the computer was proven wrong and hers was established as right!

REFERENCE: SLIDESHARE.COM  ( PPT OF PARKAVI ELANGOVAN)