The Indian to beat the computers in mathematical wizardry is

Question

The Indian to beat the computers in mathematical wizardry is

1. A. Ramanujam
2. B. Rina Panigrahi
3. C. Raja Ramanna
4. D. Shakuntala Devi (Correct answer)

Correct Answer

Option D — Shakuntala Devi

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Shakuntala Devi.

Key Points

• Shakuntala Devi (1929–2013) was known as the Human Computer for performing complex mental arithmetic faster than the machines of her day.
• In 1980 she multiplied two randomly chosen 13-digit numbers mentally in 28 seconds, a feat recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records.
• Srinivasa Ramanujan was a pioneering mathematician, but he is not associated with outpacing computers.
• Raja Ramanna was a nuclear physicist, not a mental calculator.

Additional Information

• Her best-known feat came in 1980 at Imperial College London, where she multiplied two randomly chosen 13-digit numbers correctly in 28 seconds, earning a place in the *Guinness Book of World Records*.
• Earlier, in 1977, she extracted the 23rd root of a 201-digit number in 50 seconds — faster than the UNIVAC computer set the same task.
• Born in Bangalore in 1929, she also wrote on mathematics, astrology and, unusually for her time, homosexuality.