Google doodles India's human computer Shakuntala Devi on her 84th birthday

On Monday, Google honoured India’s Shakuntala Devi on her 84th birth anniversary with a Google Doodle. She is popularly known as the “human computer” for her ability to mentally solve complex mathematical problems, and has also earned a place in The Guinness Book of World Records in 1982.  The Doodle shows calculator font along with the picture of Shakuntala Devi.

Her father discovered her ability to memorise numbers while teaching her a card trick when she was merely three years old. He then took her on road shows and displayed her ability at calculation. It should be noted that she was able to work wonders with numbers without any formal education.

“Human Computer”

On June 18, 1980, she demonstrated the multiplication of two 13-digit numbers, which were randomly picked by the Computer Department of Imperial College, London. She managed to give the correct answer in 28 seconds. This is the event mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records.

More from News & Analysis

What is the US HIRE Bill and why is India’s $250-billion IT sector worried? Is the internet dead? What's this theory that OpenAI's Sam Altman says might be true?

Earlier in 1977, she competed with a computer in order to see who gets the cube root of 188132517 faster, and she won. The same year, she also wrote “The World of Homosexuals”, the first study of homosexuality in India. Along with her work as a mental calculator, Shakuntala Devi was an astrologer and an author of several books, including cookbooks and novels.

Earlier this year in April, Shakuntala Devi passed away in Bangalore where she was hospitalised for respiratory problems.