Shakuntala Devi (1929–2013), famously known as the “Human Computer”, was an Indian mathematician, astrologer, and writer celebrated for her extraordinary calculation skills.

Shakuntala Devi (1929–2013), famously known as the “Human Computer”, was an Indian mathematician, astrologer, and writer celebrated for her extraordinary mental calculation skills.

Her most iconic achievement came on 18 June 1980, when she set a world record at Imperial College London. Given two randomly selected 13-digit numbers—7,686,369,774,870 and 2,465,099,745,779—she multiplied them mentally and delivered the correct 26-digit product 18,947,668,177,995,426,462,773,730 in just 28 seconds. The feat was officially recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1982, though she only received the certificate posthumously in 2020.

What made her achievements even more remarkable was that she had no formal education in mathematics. From early childhood, she displayed an astonishing ability with numbers, which soon brought her international fame. By the 1970s and 1980s, she was dazzling audiences worldwide with feats that stunned both mathematicians and computer scientists.

In 1977, she extracted the 23rd root of a 201-digit number in just 50 seconds, beating a computer that needed more time to confirm her result. Later, in 1988, scientific researchers tested her extensively and found that she could calculate cube roots, seventh roots, and other complex operations faster than researchers could even record her responses.

Shakuntala Devi didn’t just perform mental stunts; she also sought to share her love for numbers. Her book Figuring: The Joy of Numbers (1977) combined entertainment with mathematical insight, encouraging people to see mathematics as a creative and joyful pursuit rather than an intimidating subject.

Beyond mathematics, she had wide-ranging interests. She wrote books on astrology, puzzles, and even human sexuality, including the groundbreaking “The World of Homosexuals” (1977), one of the first studies on homosexuality in India.

Her life remains a testament to the unbounded potential of the human mind, showing that brilliance can flourish outside conventional classrooms. Even decades later, she continues to inspire mathematicians, students, and enthusiasts across the world.