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.
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... Shakuntala Devi had amazing calculation prowess, but to me it was always seemed more in the savant zone.
Comments
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.
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... Shakuntala Devi had amazing calculation prowess, but to me it was always seemed more in the savant zone.