With the Kaktovian number system, a number system is just entering the digital world that is only 30 years old and was developed by less than 10 students in a village in northern Alaska. Unlike the globally dominant Indian-Arabic numerals, the system is based on 20 and thus fits much better with the number system of the Inuit language Iñupiaq. The number system has been part of the Unicode standard since the fall and work is currently underway to incorporate it into fonts so that it can actually be used electronically, reports the Scientific American. While Google only has a pre-release version of such a font, the online encyclopedia Wikipedia is more advanced. The digits can already be displayed there.
Better school performance thanks to new numbers
As the science magazine explains, the Iñupiaq number system is based on the human body and sums quantities in groups of five first. In principle, the fingers and toes would be counted together and after decades of suppression, the number system, which was only passed on orally, was on the verge of being forgotten in the early 1990s. However, as part of a school project, numerals were developed that fit the system much better than the Arabic-Indic characters used up to that point. With the new number signs, the students could have solved mathematical tasks faster and better, explains the teacher who helped with the development.
Since 1997, the number system has been taught on an equal footing with Arabic-Indic and the performance of the students has improved noticeably. Finally, local politicians have also reacted and provided guidelines to ensure that the Kaktovian number system can spread along the coast of northern Alaska. Nevertheless, there were always fears that the number system could come under pressure from educational requirements and, moreover, it was not available digitally. That’s why it became submitted to the Unicode Consortium and after acceptance nothing stands in the way of installation in operating systems, fonts and other digital technology. Wikimedia shows the way, where a font has been made available.
Visually easy to understand
The number system is visual and easy to understand: the numbers from 1 to 4 are each represented by the same number of slashes running from top to bottom. The numbers 5, 10, and 15 are represented by one, two, and three dashes, respectively. In combination, all numbers between 1 and 20 can be represented. Written side by side, the larger numbers can then be represented in the same way as we know it from the Arabic-Indian number system. Calculations can be carried out visually and intuitively with the system, above all dividing is much easier, explains the Scientific American.
Digitizing the Kaktovian number system is just the beginning, say northern Alaskans. Other indigenous number systems could follow. The magazine points out that it has also been part of the syllabary of the Cherokee nation for more than 200 years there is a number system. However, this was only recognized by the responsible authorities in 2012 and it is unclear how widespread it is among the members of the largest surviving indigenous people in North America. Programmer Roy Boney sees signs of growing usage and hopes for Unicode inclusion. His hope is that one day he will use it to develop a programming language. Just two years ago, such goals could only have been dreamed of.
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