14 DAY TRIAL // This past Sunday, mathematical wizard Shakuntala Devi passed away in Bangalore, India. She was 83 years old, and specialists agree that her death was caused by both cardiac and respiratory issues.
During her lifetime, Shakuntala Devi was often referred to as a “human computer.” This was because she was able to make stunningly fast calculations.
According to The Inquisitr, Shakuntala Devi first started using her amazing math skills to make money after her family's poor finances forced her to quit school and become a street performer.
Circus performances followed shortly, and soon enough, this mathematical wizard was asked to appear on both TV shows and radio broadcasts.
“I had become the sole breadwinner of my family, and the responsibility was a huge one for a young child. At the age of 6, I gave my first major show at the University of Mysore, and this was the beginning of my marathon of public performances,” Shakuntala Devi reportedly said at one point.
Shakuntala Devi's math skills made it possible for her to multiply 13-digit numbers in a mere 28 seconds. She was also able to extract the cube root of a multiple-digit number in a matter of seconds.
When given a date in the last century, Shakuntala Devi could easily tell which day of the week that date fell on.