Who The Great Human Computer & the Best Mathematician

Shakuntala Devi was an Indian mathematician who earned the title of ‘The Human Computer’ due to her extraordinary mental calculation abilities. She was born in Bangalore, India and had a passion for mathematics since childhood.

     Not only did she have an immense love for mathematics, but she also had a unique talent for solving complex mathematical problems without using any calculators or computers. 


     Her achievements not only made her famous in India but also around the world. She even wrote several books on mathematics and astrology that were published in multiple languages.


Shakuntala who had achieved tremendous fame in India and set vogue to London with her father. There she was invited on the BBC show. The host posed a complex calculation before her and she answered it within seconds.


         Although the answers did not match,  Later upon recalculation it was found that Shakuntala's answer was correct and thus she gained instant popularity.

     Shakuntala Devi's story is even more remarkable as she was married to a homosexual man and they lived together in London until his death in 1994. She wrote a book on homosexual. 


    Despite this, Shakuntala Devi continued to pursue her passion for mathematics and won many awards throughout her life including being honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Government of India. 

Truly, Shakuntala Devi was a mathematical genius who earned the nickname ‘Human Computer’ due to her extraordinary mental calculation abilities.

           She was born in 1929 in Bangalore, India and married Paritosh Banerji, an IAS officer, in 1960. Her husband was homosexual and their marriage ended after three years.


       Despite the challenges she faced in her personal life, Shakuntala Devi continued to pursue her passion for mathematics and achieved remarkable feats throughout her lifetime. Her numerous books on mathematics and astrology are still popular today. 


   She also toured extensively giving lectures and shows demonstrating her amazing mental calculation abilities. Devi's story is an inspiring one that will fill you with a love for mathematics!

Shakuntala Devi is remembered for her ability to solve complex mathematical problems in a matter of seconds. Her life story is inspiring and filled with successes, struggles, and love.

Shakuntala Devi: The Human Computer: Fame & Talent : Who The Great Human Computer & the Best Mathematician

Shakuntala Devi toured Europe in 1950 to exhibit her arithmetic skills. She used to show her another performance in New York in 1976. Shakuntala Devi met professor Arthur Jensen in the US in 1988, to get her capabilities tested.

Arthur Jensen , a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley became surprised to see her massive talent. In 1990, in an educational journal, Jenson published his findings of Shakuntala Devi.

He stated that calculations like cube root of 61,629,875 and the seventh root of 170,859,375 had been given to her to resolve the problem which she solved before Jensen should copy them down in his notebook.

Furthermore, Shakuntala gave an another demonstration at the Southern Methodist University on the 23rd root of a 201-digit number in 5o seconds. Finally the answer is 546,372,891.

The US Bureau of Standards also calculated through the UNIVAC 1101 computer and the answer is same. There has been used a distinctive program to calculate such a large root

Guinness Book of Records: Shakuntala Devi : Who The Great Human Computer & the Best Mathematician

On June 18, 1980, she perfectly resolved a question that had been selected at random by the computer department of Imperial College London by demonstrating the multiplication of two 13-digit numbers.

The two numbers were 7,686,369,774,870 and 2,465,099,745,779, and the right answer was 18,947,668,177,995,426,462,773,730.

In 1982, the book was included in the Guinness World Book of Records.

Books by Shakuntala Devi : Who The Great Human Computer & the Best Mathematician

Shakuntla Devi wrote “The Joy of Number” after publishing “The Art of Mental Calculation” in 1977. She also authored an article titled “The World of Homosexuals” about the human mind. It is a debut publication in this genre. Shakuntala asserted in a special

She was born in an orthodox Brahmin family in Bangalore, India. Despite the conservative atmosphere of her family, she had a passion for mathematics from an early age.

   She achieved international fame by solving complex mathematical problems on television shows and setting world records.

Shakuntala Devi’s story is one of courage and perseverance that will fill you with a newfound love for mathematics. You Might Like: 1. Ramanujan 2. Vidyasagar The Renaissance – Man

World Other Than Mathematics: Who The Great Human Computer & the Best Mathematician

In addition to her work as a mental calculator, Shakuntala Devi was an astrologer and an author of several books; consisting of cookbooks and novels.

Being born in an orthodox Kannada Brahmin family, her father rebelled against becoming a temple priest and rather joined a circus party where he worked as a trapeze artist, lion tamer, tightrope walker and magician.

      He discovered his daughter's capability to memorise numbers while instructing her a card trick when she was about three years old.

Her father left the circus and took her on street indicates that displayed her potential at calculation. She did this without any formal education. At the age of six; she demonstrated her arithmetic skills at the University of Mysore.

        In the mid of 1960s she  married Paritosh Banerji, an officer of the Indian Administrative Service from Kolkata. They were divorced in 1979.


   In 1980; she contested in the Lok Sabha elections as an independent from Bombay South and from Medak in Andhra Pradesh.


        In addition to her work as a intellectual calculator, Shakuntala Devi was once an astrologer. She had a great fame in this regard. 

In April 2013, Shakuntala the wonder woman and human Computer was admitted to a clinic in Bengaluru with respiratory problems. She died in 20 th April.