6 ms·

‘Human computer’ Shakuntala Devi has died

107 points by sindhiparsani 14y ago

manojlds 14y ago
I was enthralled as a child reading her books - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakuntala_Devi#Books http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakuntala_Devi#Books
- ramblerman 14y ago
  "The World of Homosexuals" What's that one about?
  - manojlds 14y ago
    Ha Ha I didn't read that one as a child, but I gather it is a very small book which is more of an interview.
fractallyte 14y ago
It's ironic that the article got her year of birth wrong: 1929 instead of 1939.
- gngeal 14y ago
  That's still a better uptime than any computer I've ever seen! (Come to think of it, with my health and with my luck, that's a better uptime than my mortal solenoid is probably ever going to have... :/)
shared4you 14y ago
I feel that she was a child-genius like Ramanujan, but was unfortunate to be not "discovered" by a mentor like G.H.Hardy. She had great memorization skills and logical thinking, so obviously excelled at writing puzzles' books. It's a pity that her contributions to modern mathematics is zilch. I still wonder why didn't she take up number theory. She went into astrology (yea, not astronomy), which is still debated as a pseudo-science. She could've done so much, but alas it's too late now. But well, each person to his own, each -ology to itself. RIP.
- ceejayoz 14y ago
  I don't think astrology is debated as a pseudo-science.
  - fareesh 14y ago
    +1, astrology is the poster child for pseudo-science.
- mef51 14y ago
  Despite no direct contributions to modern mathematics, the people she inspired with her skill could have a huge effect. That can be considered a contribution, especially since she actively showed off her talents repeatedly to different audiences.
- arocks 14y ago
  Indian Astrology is quite a lucrative field. Almost every other person in India believes in it, including wealthy businessmen who are interested in everything from calculating the right time to start a new venture to the most numerologically lucky name for themselves. On the other hand, most mathematicians end up as school teacher in India, especially if you are only good at arithmetic (which I believe was the case, based on her feats and books). Being a school dropout, she would have faced huge barriers in any Indian academic institution to conduct research in Mathematics. So, you are right, in the absence of a mentor there were not many options left for Shakuntala Devi. Mathematical calculations are heavily applied in Indian astrology and now computers are used for this purpose. Hence, Astrology would have been an interesting diversion for her.
  - mohaps 14y ago
    You should look up the tragic case of the Indian mathematician V.N. Singh to get some perspective :( http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-19/patna/38673824_1_indian-statistical-institute-university-headquarters-bnmu http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-19/patna... Shakuntala Devi had amazing calculation prowess, but to me it was always seemed more in the savant zone.
arocks 14y ago
Shakuntala Devi had also inspired an entire generation to read and understand her books about recreational mathematics. Her books like 'Puzzles to Puzzle You' were used to prepare for interviews in IT companies which used to have several rounds of puzzle solving. She would probably be the last human (that I am aware of) who could beat a computer in arithmetic.
wging 14y ago
>Rated as one in 58 million for her stupendous mathematical feats by one of the fastest super-computers ever invented —the Univac — 1108 —, Ms. Devi believed in using grey cells to silicon chips. This is somewhat unclear. Wikipedia clears up what's probably meant here: >In 1977 in Dallas she competed with a computer to see who give the cube root of 188138517 faster. She won. At an American university she was asked to give the 23rd root of 91674867692003915809866092758538016248310668014430862240712651642793465704086709659 3279205767480806790022783016354924852380335745316935111903596577547340075681688305 620821016129132845564805780158806771. She answered in 50 seconds. Her answer of 546372891 took a UNIVAC 1108 computer a full minute (10 seconds more) to confirm that she was right after it was fed with 13000 instructions.
- plus9z 14y ago
  Anyway, the point isn't that she's faster than a computer (I mean, my laptop can conjure up that answer with PARI/GP in under a millisecond). The point is a) she pushed the limits of human achievement and showed that such feats were, in fact, possible, particularly for an adult beyond their twenties, and b) her passion for math inspired so many others. I mean, who wouldn't be impressed by someone who could calculate that? I doubt I could even keep track of all those digits given all the time in the world, much less give any answer better than an order of magnitude estimation in 50 seconds. Her intention was to show people (generally kids) that math is not this impossible, unconquerable monster of a subject, even though it may seem that way when you first encounter it, and even afterwards, as long as you treat it that way.
- scoot 14y ago
  Did she ever document her mental process for these sorts of feats? I mean, I doubt I could come up with the correct answer given an unlimited time, a ream of paper, and a pocket calculator, so I'm fascinated how she did. Was she very good at complex math, or did she leverage a huge working memory to split the problem up into a larger number of simpler calculations, or some other combination of factors?
  - ArikBe 14y ago
    This is somewhat related. I remember watching an episode of "Stan Lee's Super humans" on the Discovery channel. They were with a man who was also able to do lightning fast calculations, not of the complexity as described in the article, but he could easily recall dates, multiply 5 digit numbers faster than someone with a calculator etc. They put this man under an MRI scanner while giving him problems to solve. What they noticed was an unusually high activity in a part of the brain that is responsible for eye movement. So – perhaps not very scientifically responsible – the neurologist offered the explanation that he was using a part of his brain that is normally used to solve complex mathematics subconsciously in order to position our eyes properly throughout the day. Apparently this motor movement is very complex and he was leveraging the ability of this area to solve these arithmetic problems and engage in pattern matching in order to recollect past dates.
Alex3917 14y ago
Would she have been eligible for James Randi's million dollars?
- saalweachter 14y ago
  James Randi is looking for the supernatural, not the superhuman. Usain Bolt is also not eligible.
hawkw 14y ago
I hope they weren't running any mission-critical software on her...
losethos 14y ago
Ohh! Some India-nigger is confused about God and me. ----- http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/04/scientists-get-coelacanth-genome-and-a-hint-of-the-origin-of-limbs/ http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/04/scientists-get-coelac... God said "fish shoulders" was significant in evolution. God says... and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. 41:23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. 41:24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you. 41:25 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay. 41:26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words. ---- You have any grammar pet peeves, God? God says... 74:12 For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. 74:13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. 74:14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness. 74:15 Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers. 74:16 The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. 74:17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter. ---- Royal We
losethos 14y ago
Who's Your favorite king, God? God says... salvation. 13:6 I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me. 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. 14:2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 14:3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 14:4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD. ---- Mutiny on the Bounty ---- God, does Hawkings impress You more? Who? God says... not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 2:18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 2:19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come: 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
aut0mat0n1c 14y ago
It is by will alone I set my mind in motion....
- nerdshark 14y ago
  It is by the juice of sapho that thoughts acquire speed...
gcanyon 14y ago
Calculating 23rd roots is a different story, but finding the day of the week for any date isn't actually that hard. John Conway came up with a manageable method, which was improved a few years back. I think I've simplified it a bit further: http://gcanyon.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/a-better-way-to-calculate-the-day-of-the-week/ http://gcanyon.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/a-better-way-to-calc...
mstdokumaci 14y ago
and non-human computers are still alive. so

107 points by sindhiparsani 14y ago

I was enthralled as a child reading her books - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakuntala_Devi#Books http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakuntala_Devi#Books

ramblerman 14y ago
"The World of Homosexuals" What's that one about?
- manojlds 14y ago
  Ha Ha I didn't read that one as a child, but I gather it is a very small book which is more of an interview.

fractallyte 14y ago

It's ironic that the article got her year of birth wrong: 1929 instead of 1939.

gngeal 14y ago
That's still a better uptime than any computer I've ever seen! (Come to think of it, with my health and with my luck, that's a better uptime than my mortal solenoid is probably ever going to have... :/)

shared4you 14y ago

I feel that she was a child-genius like Ramanujan, but was unfortunate to be not "discovered" by a mentor like G.H.Hardy. She had great memorization skills and logical thinking, so obviously excelled at writing puzzles' books. It's a pity that her contributions to modern mathematics is zilch. I still wonder why didn't she take up number theory. She went into astrology (yea, not astronomy), which is still debated as a pseudo-science. She could've done so much, but alas it's too late now. But well, each person to his own, each -ology to itself. RIP.

ceejayoz 14y ago
I don't think astrology is debated as a pseudo-science.
- fareesh 14y ago
  +1, astrology is the poster child for pseudo-science.
mef51 14y ago
Despite no direct contributions to modern mathematics, the people she inspired with her skill could have a huge effect. That can be considered a contribution, especially since she actively showed off her talents repeatedly to different audiences.
arocks 14y ago
Indian Astrology is quite a lucrative field. Almost every other person in India believes in it, including wealthy businessmen who are interested in everything from calculating the right time to start a new venture to the most numerologically lucky name for themselves. On the other hand, most mathematicians end up as school teacher in India, especially if you are only good at arithmetic (which I believe was the case, based on her feats and books). Being a school dropout, she would have faced huge barriers in any Indian academic institution to conduct research in Mathematics. So, you are right, in the absence of a mentor there were not many options left for Shakuntala Devi. Mathematical calculations are heavily applied in Indian astrology and now computers are used for this purpose. Hence, Astrology would have been an interesting diversion for her.
- mohaps 14y ago
  You should look up the tragic case of the Indian mathematician V.N. Singh to get some perspective :( http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-19/patna/38673824_1_indian-statistical-institute-university-headquarters-bnmu http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-19/patna... Shakuntala Devi had amazing calculation prowess, but to me it was always seemed more in the savant zone.

arocks 14y ago

Shakuntala Devi had also inspired an entire generation to read and understand her books about recreational mathematics. Her books like 'Puzzles to Puzzle You' were used to prepare for interviews in IT companies which used to have several rounds of puzzle solving. She would probably be the last human (that I am aware of) who could beat a computer in arithmetic.

wging 14y ago

>Rated as one in 58 million for her stupendous mathematical feats by one of the fastest super-computers ever invented —the Univac — 1108 —, Ms. Devi believed in using grey cells to silicon chips. This is somewhat unclear. Wikipedia clears up what's probably meant here: >In 1977 in Dallas she competed with a computer to see who give the cube root of 188138517 faster. She won. At an American university she was asked to give the 23rd root of 91674867692003915809866092758538016248310668014430862240712651642793465704086709659 3279205767480806790022783016354924852380335745316935111903596577547340075681688305 620821016129132845564805780158806771. She answered in 50 seconds. Her answer of 546372891 took a UNIVAC 1108 computer a full minute (10 seconds more) to confirm that she was right after it was fed with 13000 instructions.

plus9z 14y ago
Anyway, the point isn't that she's faster than a computer (I mean, my laptop can conjure up that answer with PARI/GP in under a millisecond). The point is a) she pushed the limits of human achievement and showed that such feats were, in fact, possible, particularly for an adult beyond their twenties, and b) her passion for math inspired so many others. I mean, who wouldn't be impressed by someone who could calculate that? I doubt I could even keep track of all those digits given all the time in the world, much less give any answer better than an order of magnitude estimation in 50 seconds. Her intention was to show people (generally kids) that math is not this impossible, unconquerable monster of a subject, even though it may seem that way when you first encounter it, and even afterwards, as long as you treat it that way.
scoot 14y ago
Did she ever document her mental process for these sorts of feats? I mean, I doubt I could come up with the correct answer given an unlimited time, a ream of paper, and a pocket calculator, so I'm fascinated how she did. Was she very good at complex math, or did she leverage a huge working memory to split the problem up into a larger number of simpler calculations, or some other combination of factors?
- ArikBe 14y ago
  This is somewhat related. I remember watching an episode of "Stan Lee's Super humans" on the Discovery channel. They were with a man who was also able to do lightning fast calculations, not of the complexity as described in the article, but he could easily recall dates, multiply 5 digit numbers faster than someone with a calculator etc. They put this man under an MRI scanner while giving him problems to solve. What they noticed was an unusually high activity in a part of the brain that is responsible for eye movement. So – perhaps not very scientifically responsible – the neurologist offered the explanation that he was using a part of his brain that is normally used to solve complex mathematics subconsciously in order to position our eyes properly throughout the day. Apparently this motor movement is very complex and he was leveraging the ability of this area to solve these arithmetic problems and engage in pattern matching in order to recollect past dates.

Alex3917 14y ago

Would she have been eligible for James Randi's million dollars?

saalweachter 14y ago
James Randi is looking for the supernatural, not the superhuman. Usain Bolt is also not eligible.

hawkw 14y ago

I hope they weren't running any mission-critical software on her...

losethos 14y ago

Ohh! Some India-nigger is confused about God and me. ----- http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/04/scientists-get-coelacanth-genome-and-a-hint-of-the-origin-of-limbs/ http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/04/scientists-get-coelac... God said "fish shoulders" was significant in evolution. God says... and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. 41:23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. 41:24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you. 41:25 I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay. 41:26 Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words. ---- You have any grammar pet peeves, God? God says... 74:12 For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. 74:13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. 74:14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness. 74:15 Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers. 74:16 The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. 74:17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter. ---- Royal We

losethos 14y ago

Who's Your favorite king, God? God says... salvation. 13:6 I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me. 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. 14:2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 14:3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 14:4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD. ---- Mutiny on the Bounty ---- God, does Hawkings impress You more? Who? God says... not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 2:18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 2:19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come: 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

aut0mat0n1c 14y ago

It is by will alone I set my mind in motion....

nerdshark 14y ago
It is by the juice of sapho that thoughts acquire speed...

gcanyon 14y ago

Calculating 23rd roots is a different story, but finding the day of the week for any date isn't actually that hard. John Conway came up with a manageable method, which was improved a few years back. I think I've simplified it a bit further: http://gcanyon.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/a-better-way-to-calculate-the-day-of-the-week/ http://gcanyon.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/a-better-way-to-calc...

mstdokumaci 14y ago

and non-human computers are still alive. so