Shakuntala Devi (1929-2013) was a mathematical wizard known as “the human computer” for her ability to make incredibly swift calculations. In 1977, at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, she extracted the 23rd root of a 201-digit number in 50 seconds, beating a computer which took 62 seconds. In 1980, she correctly multiplied two 13-digit numbers and recited the 26-digit solution in only 28 seconds at the Imperial College in London earning her a place in the 1982 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records. She further demonstrated her multiplication skills by multiplying two 13-digit numbers 7,686,369,774,870 x 2,465,099,745,779 picked at random by a computer at Imperial College in London. She correctly answered 18,947,668,177,995,426,462,773,730 in only 28 seconds, which earned her a place in the 1982 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records. Her mathematical gifts were first demonstrated as she was doing card tricks. A genius mathematician, Shakuntala Devi passed away at a hospital in Bangalore, India, April 21. She was 83.
Credit : Siliconeer
Picture Credit : Google
