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doofus_maximus- Posts : 1903
Join date : 2011-04-29
Re: Shakunala Devi dies
by Seva Lamberdar Sun Apr 21, 2013 11:08 am
Heard about her first when I was in UBC (1974 or so doing my Ph.D.). I think she created a very positive image of ancient Indian calculation / computation capabilities among the foreigners.
May she Rest In Peace.
May she Rest In Peace.
Seva Lamberdar- Posts : 6574
Join date : 2012-11-29 -
Re: Shakunala Devi dies
by MaxEntropy_Man Sun Apr 21, 2013 12:18 pm
she is an arithmetic savant. don't know why indians called her a mathematical genius.
MaxEntropy_Man- Posts : 14702
Join date : 2011-04-28
Re: Shakunala Devi dies
by Seva Lamberdar Sun Apr 21, 2013 6:01 pm
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:she is an arithmetic savant. don't know why indians called her a mathematical genius.
There were quite a few SI grad students at UBC when I joined the place. They seemed to be quite impressed with Dr. Shankutala and spoke highly of her. I don't know if she had gone to UBC before my time and given a lecture / demo. regarding her problem solving skills. Anyway, it was nice to hear people talking that she had beaten a computer in terms of speed while solving a math problem.
Seva Lamberdar- Posts : 6574
Join date : 2012-11-29 -
Re: Shakunala Devi dies
by MaxEntropy_Man Sun Apr 21, 2013 6:09 pm
regardless she was not a mathematician. she was an arithmetician.
MaxEntropy_Man- Posts : 14702
Join date : 2011-04-28
Re: Shakunala Devi dies
by Seva Lamberdar Sun Apr 21, 2013 7:05 pm
People talked about her as Dr. Shakuntala. I thought she had a Ph.D. in math.
Seva Lamberdar- Posts : 6574
Join date : 2012-11-29 -
Re: Shakunala Devi dies
by bw Sun Apr 21, 2013 8:09 pm
it seems that she was an astrologer too?
from wiki:
Devi was an astrologer and gave remedies purportedly based on date and time of birth and place (see Astrology for You linked below).
from wiki:
Devi was an astrologer and gave remedies purportedly based on date and time of birth and place (see Astrology for You linked below).
bw- Posts : 2922
Join date : 2012-11-15
Re: Shakunala Devi dies
by Seva Lamberdar Sun Apr 21, 2013 10:14 pm
In 1977 in Dallas she competed with a computer to see who could give the cube root of 188132517 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.
On June 18, 1980, she demonstrated the multiplication of two 13-digit numbers 7,686,369,774,870 x 2,465,099,745,779 picked at random by the Computer Department of Imperial College, London. She correctly answered 18,947,668,177,995,426,462,773,730 in 28 seconds. This event is mentioned in the 1995 Guinness Book of Records.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakuntala_Devi
Amazing!
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.
On June 18, 1980, she demonstrated the multiplication of two 13-digit numbers 7,686,369,774,870 x 2,465,099,745,779 picked at random by the Computer Department of Imperial College, London. She correctly answered 18,947,668,177,995,426,462,773,730 in 28 seconds. This event is mentioned in the 1995 Guinness Book of Records.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakuntala_Devi
Amazing!
Seva Lamberdar- Posts : 6574
Join date : 2012-11-29 -
Re: Shakunala Devi dies
by Guest Sun Apr 21, 2013 10:19 pm
i know a sorta autistic child, who will give u the day, if u give him any date present, past, future, instantly. It's so amazing. He also remembers all our birthdays. he has no idea how he does it. He says he just sees the calendar in his head. Reminds you of the rain man. Some minds are just made that way I guess.
Guest- Guest
Seva Lamberdar- Posts : 6574
Join date : 2012-11-29 -
Re: Shakunala Devi dies
by Maria S Mon Apr 22, 2013 8:01 am
Seva Lamberdar wrote:In 1977 in Dallas she competed with a computer to see who could give the cube root of 188132517 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.
On June 18, 1980, she demonstrated the multiplication of two 13-digit numbers 7,686,369,774,870 x 2,465,099,745,779 picked at random by the Computer Department of Imperial College, London. She correctly answered 18,947,668,177,995,426,462,773,730 in 28 seconds. This event is mentioned in the 1995 Guinness Book of Records.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakuntala_Devi
Amazing!
Good Morning dear Seva!
She was amazing..a genius with a passion for numbers and at a time when girls/women were hardly known for that, esp. Indian women, she stood out, and was someone to look up to.
When there is so much restlessness, cynicism, discontent in the world..even with
"everything" people have today..so lazy to even do simple things without some gadget, an app..it's quite nice to remember her..and her abilities.
RIP.
Maria S- Posts : 2879
Join date : 2011-12-31
Re: Shakunala Devi dies
by Seva Lamberdar Mon Apr 22, 2013 8:45 am
Good Morning dear Maria.
Ms. Shankutala Devi was truly an amazing woman and it's good that you brought up the girl / woman angle with respect to mathematics. She probably inspired many girls to choose mathematics in school / college as a career. Considering the large number of her fans I saw at UBC/Vancouver, she seems to have had quite an impact on young people (at least in / from India). Just this morning my wife was telling me that she had attended Shankutala Devi's lecture when she was in college in Chandigarh and everyone in the audience seemed to be impressed by her computing prowess.
Ms. Shankutala Devi was truly an amazing woman and it's good that you brought up the girl / woman angle with respect to mathematics. She probably inspired many girls to choose mathematics in school / college as a career. Considering the large number of her fans I saw at UBC/Vancouver, she seems to have had quite an impact on young people (at least in / from India). Just this morning my wife was telling me that she had attended Shankutala Devi's lecture when she was in college in Chandigarh and everyone in the audience seemed to be impressed by her computing prowess.
Seva Lamberdar- Posts : 6574
Join date : 2012-11-29 -
Re: Shakunala Devi dies
by Maria S Mon Apr 22, 2013 9:37 am
Seva Lamberdar wrote:Good Morning dear Maria.
Ms. Shankutala Devi was truly an amazing woman and it's good that you brought up the girl / woman angle with respect to mathematics. She probably inspired many girls to choose mathematics in school / college as a career. Considering the large number of her fans I saw at UBC/Vancouver, she seems to have had quite an impact on young people (at least in / from India). Just this morning my wife was telling me that she had attended Shankutala Devi's lecture when she was in college in Chandigarh and everyone in the audience seemed to be impressed by her computing prowess.
Sure Seva.
Appreciate you sharing Mrs. Seva's experience. How true indeed- she had a great influence and many admirers!
When we had to do projects related to famous Indian women in school (in any field..politics-leaders, science, academics in general etc) there were not many well-known Indian women we could select from. As internationally well-known Indira Gandhi was *and perhaps the most often mentioned woman leader..there were way too many photos of her (!)...looking back at us from everywhere!
Maria S- Posts : 2879
Join date : 2011-12-31
Re: Shakunala Devi dies
by Seva Lamberdar Mon Apr 22, 2013 9:55 am
True, Maria ... the young people need to have many and different kinds of role models. It broadens the perspective and creates more interest. Moreover, having only one or two persons in the entire country to inspire the girls everywhere must become quite boring and limited in scope very quickly.
Seva Lamberdar- Posts : 6574
Join date : 2012-11-29 -
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