Who is Shakuntala Devi? Here is everything you need to know about the 'Human Computer'

Amazon Prime Video released the official trailer of Shakuntala Devi on Wednesday, July 15. The highly anticipated biographical drama features Vidya Balan in the lead role and is based on the world-renowned mathematics genius Shakuntala Devi. The movie gives a glimpse of the personal and professional life of Shakuntala Devi.

The trailer has received mixed reviews from the audience. A lot of people were left in awe by Shakuntala Devi’s outstanding ability in doing large mathematical calculations while others did not like the trailer that much. However, a lot of people have been wondering about who is Shakuntala Devi. Here is everything you need to know about the mathematical genius and 'human computer'.

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Who is Shakuntala Devi?

Shakuntala Devi was an Indian writer and mathematical wizard. She was widely known all over the world as 'human computer'. Her brilliance in mathematical calculations also earned her a place in the 1982 edition of The Guinness Book Of World Records. Shakuntala Devi was born to Kannadiga parents in 1929 and was a mathematical wizard since her childhood. She even demonstrated her arithmetic abilities at the University of Mysore without any formal education as a child at the age of six. Shakuntala Devi travelled across the world to showcase her talents.

Shakuntala Devi images

In 1988, Shakuntala Devi travelled to the US to have her abilities studied by a professor of psychology Arthur Jensen at the University of California, Berkeley. Jensen reported that she gave the solutions to problems like calculating the cube root of 61,629,875 and the seventh root of 170,859,375 before he could copy them down in his notebook.

In 1980, Shakuntala Devi gave the correct solution to the multiplication of two random 13 digit numbers in 28 seconds. This event earned her a place in 1982 The Guinness Book Of World Records.

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Shakuntala Devi books and puzzles

Shakuntala Devi was also a popular author. She wrote several books in her later years. Her books included novels as well as texts about mathematics, puzzles, and astrology. She explained many of her methods of calculation in her book Figuring: The Joy of Numbers, which is still in print. She also wrote the book The World of Homosexuals. It is considered as the first study of homosexuality in India. Her puzzles are still very popular among mathematics lovers across the globe. Shakuntala Devi passed away at the age of 82 in Bangalore India.

Image Credits and promo image credits: Vidya Balan and Amazon Prime Video Instagram