Short biography of shakuntala devi mathematician fibonacci number

She took people across the world by storm in the 70s and 80s with her astounding ability to mentally calculate equations involving numbers of the highest order and broke calculation world records. One can find various puzzle books authored by her in bookstores across the nation even today.

Shakuntala Devi (4 November – 21 April ) was an Indian mental calculator, astrologer, and writer, popularly known as the "Human Computer".

This article seeks to put forth an overview of her life and her contributions to various fields, including writing, although she is remembered mainly as a mathematical prodigy. Devi was born on November 4, , to a traditional Kannada Brahmin family living in Bangalore. Her father, however, unlike the rest of the family who were priests worked in a circus as a tightrope walker, trapeze artist, lion tamer, and stage magician.

Her father discovered her extraordinary abilities one day when she was three years old and they were playing a game of cards together. He noticed that she was able to win by memorizing all the cards. Her father took her on performances on the road where she displayed her talents. She had to drop out of school in class one due to her family not being able to afford the fees, however, this did not hinder her destiny as she was a child prodigy who was able to solve sums without any formal education.

By the time she was six, she was touring different universities such as the University of Mysore, Annamalai University, Osmania University, etc. Thus she was able to capitalize on her talents, and despite being the youngest member of her family and only a child, she became its breadwinner.

Shakuntala Devi, also known as the "Human Computer," held the record for correctly multiplying two digit numbers in just 28 seconds, a feat that gained her international recognition.

A few years later, she moved to London along with her father and in , embarked on a tour around Europe and amazed academics and the public everywhere she went, as her answers would turn out to be different but right when checked. Devi gained recognition not for her ability to calculate large sums alone but also the astounding speed at which she was able to calculate them.

In , The New York Times wrote about her that. If you gave her any date in the last century, she would tell you what day of the week it fell on.