I enjoy the craft of BUILDING things; and software gives one an easy environment to be productive in creating.

In my early experience as a mechanical engineer I learned of the other-worldly use of different numerical bases - number systems did not have to be base-10.  This took me by surprise.  How would a culture that used the "non-standard" numerical system attain devices such as protractors, rulers,  calculators, etc.?  Would they mark out the etched inches on a ruler and write in their units?  I remembered how difficult it was in our feeble attempt to switch to the metric system.  Well, that is just the way the world is, I thought.

I wrote my senior engineering project in Quick Basic (not C-language) because Basic had a graphics mode (640 x 480 pixels) and I could draw beams with force arrows, or the profile of a cam rotor and the follower’s motion.  Doing that in C was - well not even remotely possible in 1984.  The ease of use of technology is of primary importance in the early phases.

Apple Computer Company knew of this concern in the early phases of the introduction of technology.  My father saw that computers were going to play a large role in society - he brought home an Apple computer in the summer of 1982, just to see if I would enjoy playing with it.  I did!  For some reason, he forced me to take typing in my next high school term.  It is without a doubt one of the few skills from school that I use EVERY day.  Not much in life is that pervasive.

I kept coding and have had a career in computer technology.  It is very enjoyable to experience the creation of useful tools (software).  And sometimes seeing the gratitude of the end consumers, using the tools I and teams have created.

In 2007 I watched as Steve Jobs unveiled the touchscreen interface of the iPhone.  It occurred to me that his invention (innovation) was going to revolutionize the device industry.

From that point onward, designing a human interface was no longer a physical product design constraint solution.  I went straight out and bought my first iPhone.  Now the problem domain of tools for cultures that counted differently was within the software arena, and much less expensive to resolve.

For several months I attempted to code in Objective-C the iPhone's native language.  I learned C and used it in engineering in 1984/85 and throughout the 1980s.  But, I always hated the language.  It was made so poorly for humans and used such rudimentary techniques (for example starting loops at ZERO, when we humans start counting at ONE); Noted - still a problem today.  Humans are often slow to learn from our shared experiences - especially when that problem can be perceived as an IN/Out Group differential.

So I didn’t take to iPhone App creation right away.  I had a career helping teams develop “professional” software systems.  Later as the laggards to adopt Agile Software practices reluctantly came into the field working with them became too political and fraught with disaster.  When SwiftUI came along in 2019  - I rediscovered the joy of making things, with beautiful human interfaces.

I saw an article sometime in 2022 on the Kaktovik numerals and smiled.  I loved the videos that showed the graphical-visual maths functions with the Kaktovik numerals. That was the perfect use case for an iPhone App.  So I looked up the wiki page about Kaktovik Numerals.  And then searched the App Store for a calculator - there was none!  I’m just the person to solve this problem.  My second App will be a Kaktovik Calculator.  A calculator for base-20 math using the Kaktovik numerals.

Tracy and I joke about the riches I’m making writing Apps.  I make tens of dollars every year from the revenue of my first app InspireMe! Cards - an inspirational tool for Agile Coaches.  Then I looked up the population of north-shore Inuk - it is not a huge marketplace.  I may only have a hundred worldwide downloads of the App.

The motivation is not about making money.  It has been a fun and challenging learning experience to think in another counting system.  To do math in that system - to make sure the code does what a math teacher believes the answer should be…

I hope I get it correct.

David

I would like to thank my wife, Tracy, for graciously allowing my year long indulgence into learning & coding this App.  My dog, Malibu, for taking long walks while discussing my programming conundrums. Along with numerous people of the internet that help me understand what my Xcode compiler was trying to tell me.