KARIMNAGAR, NOVEMBER 04, 2024: The Department of Mathematics of the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Degree College for Women, Nagunuru on the outskirts of Karimnagar, observed the 95th birth anniversary of Mathematical genius Shakuntala Devi on their college premises on Monday.
On this occasion, College Principal T Malathi, faculty members S Padmaja, M Radhika, K Radhika, G Vasumathi, D Mamatha and others paid floral tributes to the portrait of Shakuntala Devi.
Speakers recollected that Shakuntala Devi born in Bengaluru was also called a Human computer because of her ability to perform extraordinarily complex calculations in her head, faster than the most advanced machines of her time. Her birthday is a time to celebrate not only her remarkable talent but also her work in math, puzzles, education, and her impact on society, they stated.
Beyond her mathematical prowess, Shakuntala Devi was also a pioneer in promoting the love for numbers among the common people. She believed that mathematical ability could be cultivated in everyone. She authored several books on arithmetic and puzzles designed to make math more accessible and enjoyable for students and non-mathematicians alike. Her books include Figuring: The Joy of Numbers, Puzzles to Puzzle You, Book of Numbers, and Super Memory: It Can Be Yours, among others. These books broke down the complexities of numbers into engaging, interactive formats, making learning fun.
Through her books and lectures, Shakuntala Devi emphasised the importance of nurturing numerical literacy. She believed that math, often seen as a daunting subject, could be taught in ways that were both simple and enjoyable. This made her an advocate for education reform, particularly in mathematics, and she encouraged students to overcome their fear of numbers by treating them as playful puzzles rather than as difficult problems.
While mathematics dominated much of her public life, Shakuntala Devi’s personality and interests were far broader. She was also an astrologer and a writer of books on topics that stretched beyond mathematics, including astrology and cookbooks.
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