In number theory, a self number or Devlali number in a given number base is a natural number that cannot be written as the sum of any other natural number and the individual digits of . 20 is a self number (in base 10), because no such combination can be found (all give a result less than 20; all other give a result greater than 20). 21 is not, because it can be written as 15 + 1 + 5 using n = 15. These numbers were first described in 1949 by the Indian mathematician D. R. Kaprekar.[1]