Know about Shakuntala Devi a rare computational genius

Shakuntala Devi

Update: Shakuntala Devi died o 21st April 2013 at around 8:15AM IST at a hospital in Bangalore. Shakuntala died of cardiac arrest and with her death, the logic of superfast computing also gone forever.

Shakuntala Devi was the computational genius and none other has been found with that unique technique of computation.

Shakuntala Devi was generally known as a 'Human Computer' because of her extraordinary talents in solving complex mathematical problems without any mechanical aid. She also found her place in the Guinness book of records as a result of her extraordinary talents. At her later age, she apart from solving mathematical problems was utilising her amazing talent in the field of astrology.

She was born in 1939 in Bangalore, Karnataka. Manifested with an extraordinary love for numbers at the age of 3, she became an expert in complex mental arithmetic at the age of five. On 18 June 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, on June 18, 1980, in 28 seconds. Her correct answer was 18,947,668,177,995,426,462,773,730. this extraordinary incident found her a place in Guinness book of world records. Many countries have invited Shakuntala Devi to demonstrate her extraordinary talent. She was an acclaimed and accomplished mathematician.

Shakuntala Devi in later part of her life had written the book "The World of Homosexuals", which is considered the first study of homosexuality in India. She treated homosexuality in a positive light and is considered a pioneer in the field.