Shakuntala Devi
Shakuntala Devi is a
calculating prodigy who was born on
November 4,
1939 in
Bangalore,
India. She is often referred to as the "human calculator." She came from a
Brahmin family in Bangalore, but over the years her father had done a variety of circus acts.
Her mathematical gifts demonstrated themselves early.
Hinduism Today reports that she first displayed her gifts while doing card tricks with her father when she was three. They report she "beat" them by memorization of cards rather than by sleight of hand. By age six she demonstrated her calculation and memorization abilities at the
University of Mysore. At the age of eight she had success at Annamalai University by doing the same.
Unlike many other calculating prodigies, for example
Truman Henry Safford, her abilities did not wane in adulthood. In
1977 she 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. Her correct answer was 18,947,668,177,995,426,462,773,730. This event is mentioned on page 26 of the
1995 Guinness Book of Records ISBN 0553569422.
Shakuntala Devi has written a number of books, many of them dealing with popular mathematics. She has also written a cookbook for men. She is a devout
Hindu who feels a strong connection to
Ganesha whom she connects to her gifts. This may link to her interest in
astrology and in recent years she has offered personal astrology consultations in India and the United States.
*
Hinduism today*
Times of India*
A book by her
