iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Photoshopped a new maths pun: A "persistent" homology group.

A mathematical object "H superscript i j subscript p", which is common notation for a "persistent homology group" is pushing a round boulder up a hill.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Made apple crumble (RecipeTinEat's) last night because I was stewing pretty hard over recent Maths+AI news.

Single tea dish with a hearty helping of apple crumble - oats, butter and brown sugar as a crust, with softened diced granny smith and pink lady cubed apples as filling.

Single tea dish with a hearty helping of apple crumble, next to it on top of a stove is an oven tray of the remaining apple crumble.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Apple cake was made last night! I'm thinking I want the apples to be softer when I bite into them, so I'm thinking they'll have to be cooked down somehow before adding to the cake mixture. Basically want the same bite-feel like the Maccas apple pie.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

If you'll excuse my nerdiness I finally got these belt buckles engraved with the aperiodic hat tile design! 😁 I had the idea and buckles for like more than a friggin' year and was really stuck on figuring out where to get the design on them and how to do it 😤

Three belt buckles, silver, bronze, and black, are all engraved with the aperiodic hat tile pattern such that the tile in the centre is fully coloured in, but the surrounding tiles are not, giving a cracked dry land look in the background.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Haven't posted about crochet in a while. Current home project. Taking suggestions for what to transform this into.

Crochet project that looks like a cloth strip a little too thin for a scarf. The pattern is of red and white alternating zigzag patterns on both sides, done using an "interlocking" crochet style.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Giving a talk today. Are these sufficient to be called lucky socks? Guess we'll find out! 🙃

Blue-green socks with dice on them are on display next to a pair of sports shoes, all underneath a round table with a laptop showing presentation slides.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

Pfft, just ask me to design one for you next time 😂 They seem to be a bunch of maths teaching collectives all pulled together into one.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Sarah Pulis (director and cofounder of Intopia, that's where I remembered her from!) talks about how to think about maturity of accessibility services in how an organization and it's people address accessibility, and the different dimensions that one can measure it by. #A11yCamp2025

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

One of the main issues with accessibility testing is that there are so many different technologies now, which significantly increases the number of combinations to be considered. She presents a framework and some ideas on how to deal with it, including having multiple specialists #A11yCamp2025

Picture of speaker, interpreter and slide indicating an optimisation directive to reduce testing dimensions, as there is 4096 total combinations to consider.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Michelle McDonald starts off her talk on fast-tracking accessibility testing by referencing leadership themes from Star Trek (of which I'm not old enough to understand 😢) #A11yCamp2025

Presentation slide of a female Star Trek character holding a megaphone and shield, with text "Leadership Directive, the Captain's log of accessibility leadership: Plotting, briefing, protecting and reporting". Michelle is on the right on the podium, and an Auslan interpreter in the middle.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

Ricky Onsman mentions how in his technical writing role it's important for him to get words and terminology right to avoid misinterpretation and ambiguity, and how frustrated he gets when people use words to hurt others. (Me: Cue vigorous nodding of autistic people in the audience 😂) #A11yCamp2025

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

Lovely fireside chat between Sarah Pulis and Jennison Asuncion reminiscing on various events in their accessibility journey and how COVID affected things. There was a joke about an accessible pub crawl 😆 #A11yCamp2025

Sarah and Jennison are sitting comfortably on lounge chairs under the screen showing Jennison's face. Auslan interpreter on the right.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

Welcome & Housekeeping talk! And it's so comforting to have an Auslan interpreter AND captions 😁 It's the 10th Year Anniversary of #A11yCamp; in the first they managed to get around 150 people, some of who are also here today!

Picture of stage from the audience. Giant screen on the left with captions at the top. In the middle is an Auslan interpreter, on the right is the podium with who I assume is one of the organisers.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

Brb just going to hang out here all day to wind down from anxiety #A11yCamp (But engaging with me in person and getting me to talk is also good for ignoring my anxiety!)

Selfie with only the top half of my head with my eyes looking upwards towards a screen showing directions to the Quiet/Sensory room at the Melbourne Conference & Exhibition Centre.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Got a lovely response on Threads

A response from "linda.mciver" says "the only relevant question is: might it make your life better by signalling your disability? if the answer is yes (looks like it to me!) then get one."

I reply with "I love this perspective, thank you 🙏

For the most part I get by fine (going by past experiences) but there are definitely many small moments where it's like "Okay I just need a little more consideration when you interact with me" and I definitely don't have an issue signalling that."

She responds: "yep, I get it! We CAN get by without, so we feel like we SHOULD. But it's also worth bearing in mind that it helps the people we're interacting with, too, because the interaction goes better if we understand each other better. It helps everyone and harms no one!"

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

Finally finished a shawl I'd been crocheting to use up a bunch of 8ply yarn that someone gave my mother who then gave it to me. Definitely some mistakes, but glad this one is done. One less mental burden/guilt!

Selfie of me wearing said shawl. The red bordering creates an interesting clear divide down the middle when I pull the corners together.

Picture from top of the shawl laid out on top of a grey sofa. A crochet hook laid next to the shawl indicates that the horizontal length is about 10 crochet hooks long and about 6 crochet hooks deep.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

Been pretty quiet on the crafting front mostly because I've been practising double-knitting, making all the mistakes and figuring stuff out like "If I drop a stitch, where do I stick the needle in to correct it after frogging?" rather than watching/following tutorial videos.

A pair of knitting needles with a small red and white swatch sits on top of a crocheted and stiffened red/white/black yawn bowl, containing a ball of red yarn and a ball of white yarn. Around the yawn bowl is a messy desk.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Just made buttermilk mix marinated chicken thigh cutlets 😋 Also made up a couple of panko breadcrumbs balls to use up the breadcrumbs.

Picture of a chicken thigh breast covered in panko breadcrumbs in a container next to a stove where two other breaded cutlets are being shallow fried at varying degrees of completion.

Seven breaded chicken cutlets resting on top of a grill atop a tray. Random balls of panko breadcrumbs sit on top of various cutlets.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

I randomly decided to throw in a multi-cello arrangement of Bohemian Rhapsody into Melodyne to see how well it transcribed the notes. It's SO CLEAN compared to vocals, wtf.

A screenshot from Melodyne showing the letter names of notes on the left. Short waveforms indicating the notes played are organised cleanly in the rows corresponding to the notes that they represent, with very little wobbling/variation in pitch from the original note.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Just ironed my first lace crochet, woo! Bit embarrassed at the unevenness, but it's to be expected with first time projects. 🥰

A lace crochet that looks like two seashells coming out from the same middle spiral.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Shamelessly redrawing on the communal lunch whiteboard at work because someone obviously enjoys solving them 😁 Pic from the last one included.

A redrawing of the problem in the quoted post, with an added "Not to perfect scale!"

A picture of whiteboard working from the previous problem that Catriona posted, involving a partially shaded triangle.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Local Discord server does a Wednesday WIPpies (work-in-progress) check-in in their "arts & crafts" channel, so y'all also get to see updates on my lace crochet.

A seashell-like lace crochet with its accompanying 1.4mm hook & 2ply Egyptian cotton yarn placed on top of a black background.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Current crochet project now that the previous one is in the blocking+stiffening stage. Really enjoying it 🥰

A spool of 2 ply white linen stands next to a small web-like circle of a lace crochet project that is reminiscent of lace table cloths. A 5 cent coin is placed below the project, indicating that the current project is about three 5 cent coins long in diameter, and the corresponding hook is about six 5 cent coins in length.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 11/05/2025

Current project is a yarn bowl, something to hold the yarn in while sewing/knitting, also serves as a nice container 😁

Picture of a red, white and black crochet yarn bowl on top of a messy desk. The colours are in a spiral pattern at the base, and along the sides, and the colours move between dark/light shades.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Because I keep forgetting to leave the house I occasionally get bouts of cabin fever so here's a picture of some outdoors crochet 🙃

A multi-red crochet invention sits snugly on the right with a green crochet hook poking out of it. On the left is a messy tangle of 8ply acrylic wool draping from a crocheted light blue granny bag.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

Ah yeah I forgot you were zooming it down onto something like really small. Hopefully the eyes are a bit more distinct here!

Black and white rendering of a guy in a business suit holding an axe.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

It's almost hitting midnight here so I'm off to bed. Feel free to drop any feedback/preferences and I'll come back to it tomorrow.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

"Hi I'm an ex-cellist turned mathematician now doing a PhD in mathematical biology that randomly got a complimentary ticket to this Audiology #AudA2025 conference last Friday afternoon because the CEO of the non-profit hearing center I go to happens to be a really big deal" 😳

Matt is sitting in a lecture theatre holding up his conference lanyard looking at it questioningly while he waits for the opening speech to start.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Finally figured out who you reminded me of 😂 Eddie Marsan, who played the antagonist in Hancock

Media photo of Eddie Marsan, smiling and looking slightly above the camera. He has some beard growth compared to his other clean shaven images.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

Friend on Discord suggested shooting someone with a "hug cannon" and my brain was like "I HAVE TO DRAW THIS"

Picture of whiteboard, red ink. A person on the left is holding a bazooka shooting towards the front right. Coming out of the bazooka is a pair of disembodied muscular arms and chest ready to give a big strong comfy hug. A caption under the arms say "It's huggin' time!"

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Started a new crochet project. Mum: Oh that looks nice, it looks like a coaster. Me: I can make it into a coaster! Mum: That's be great for my glass lounge coffee table to replace the random cloth I was using to put my mug on!

A circle coaster made from 8ply acrylic yarn. Two different colours, red and dark red, spiral out from the center. The coaster sits atop a larger lighter brown coaster for contrast, which is sitting on top of a darker brown wooden dining table.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

Alright here's my animation submission for @tmip.bsky.social Animation Collaboration. Prompt: Create an animation demonstrating the relationship between the y-value in the unit circle and the sine wave. GeoGebra App Link: www.geogebra.org/m/heg8yed9 Video link in reply: #MathsAnimationTMiP

An animation of a GeoGebra program demonstrating how the sine of an angle within a unit circle (a circle of radius 1) is linked to the y-value of the sine wave.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Finally put myself in a position to make a come back on cross stitch projects. Although this one definitely won't be finished for yonks 😅

A desk mounted arm holds a wooden ring trapping some aida cloth which has various shades of blue speckled all over it in some interesting curvy pattern. Also on the aida is a needle minder with the word 'FUCK' in all capitals imprinted atop some flowers. In the background is a Blue Yeti mic mounted on a separate arm, and three monitors of which two is showing Facebook and Discord.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

I'm in an absolutely foul mood today (unintentionally self-inflicted, just a bit creativity stifled and missed my post-lunch coffee yesterday) so enjoy a silly selfie of my edging closer to dad mode with this wide brimmed hat because the Adelaide sun is NASTY.

In addition to the greyish wide brimmed hat, Matt is wearing a white shirt with a purple highlight inside the collar.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Spent a couple of hours at the beach today to finish this crochet granny bag 😁 This was a starter kit from CrochetPark, but their hooks with rubber grips were much nicer to use than my pure metal ones.

A light blue crocheted granny bag with a diagonal pattern that looks like multiple R's stacked diagonally. Two half circle handles are attached and standing up at the top.

A bottom view of the bag showing a leather base with studs.

A side view of the bag open, revealing the cylindrical nature of the original structure.

A selfie of me wearing sunglasses and holding up an umbrella. In the background is mostly....more beach and sand.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

Now that "two recent & big presentations" are over here's a couple of handdrawn (on iPad Procreate) images I did up for said presentations to explain the biological components. I have no desire to do scientific illustration full time but it'd be a pretty cool gig!

Handdrawn visual of the extracellular actin scavenging system. On the top left is cells releasing actin (indicated as green lines with blocks). On the top right is a cross section of an arm or leg, releasing Gelsolin (indicated as G), that attach to, break down, and cap actin.

Handdrawn illustration of a bunch of cells and the components making up their cytoskeleton, consisting of microfilaments, microtubules, and intermediate filaments. The microfilaments are specifically actin, with a zoomed in image showing a criss-crossing filamental structure.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

PhD confirmation passed 😁 Enjoy a celebratory quick comic sketch 🙃

Sketch of a three panel comic. First panel entitled "Before presentation" where I'm depicted as having nasty thoughts and feeling depressed. Second panel is entitled "During presentation" where I'm in my element explaining complicated stuff and a person in the corner is holding up a sign saying 10/10. Third panel is entitled "After presentation" where I'm lying on the ground exhausted and my soul is leaving my body.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

Using GSPT, it is possible to identify an explicit path (heteroclinic connection) between two shock points and determine the speed along said path. That's pretty amazing given the sheer complexity & dimensions of the problem! #ANZIAM2025 7/7

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

Identifying these conditions requires us to simplify (regularize) the problem by adding/modifying terms in the original equation to better understand of what happens close to these shock points Geometric singular perturbation theory (GSPT) is one such technique #ANZIAM2025 6/7

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

However on the actual paper itself we only see the particle 'teleporting' from one place on the paper to another, and thus there's a sudden change in direction, hence the shock. There are conditions where we can identify where shocks are going to happen. #ANZIAM2025 5/7

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

What do these shocks look like mathematically? Bend a piece of paper into an S shape. Imagine there's an extra dimension that 'joins' the paper from one edge to another going through the middle of the S shape. When a shock happens we travel through that middle. #ANZIAM2025 4/7

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

Shocks and sharp boundaries happen as a result. Imagine the growth between a maple leaf 🍁and a 4-leaf clover☘️. An analogy of said shocks happening during these plant growth results in the spikes in the maple leaf as opposed to the smoother clover. #ANZIAM2025 3/7

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

Last but not least at #ANZIAM2025, Bronwyn Hajek on "Nonlinear backward diffusion & regularisation options". Let's unpack some terminology first! Backward diffusion is when transport of particles moves from low to high concentrations (usually it's the other way round!) 1/7

Bronwyn is standing on the bottom left looking up at her title slide. There are five other collaborators on this research.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

I'm skipping over a lot of the finer details but the results are pretty promising when comparing them to examples with known solutions. In the second graph the 'patches' are the individual lines, but you can see how the overall trajectory matches the first graph. #ANZIAM2025 6/6

Presentation slide with title: Simulation of 1-dimensional diffusion with Neumann boundary conditions. The graphs are as described in the post.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

So how do we 'join' the patches? Interpolation! Of course, for this to work well there's a couple of conditions that we should meet so that the modelling remains reasonably accurate. This in turn imposes conditions on corresponding mathematical models. #ANZIAM2025 5/6

Presentation slide with title: Couple patches to simulate the macroscale dynamics. The main diagram shows small patches with blue and orange lines joining various edges to indicate the coupling.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

The general sketch of the idea is to generate several 'patches' where the microscale (or individual molecules) behaviour is known, index all of them, and then construct a macroscale solution from the midpoints of each 'patch'. #ANZIAM2025 4/6

Presentation slide with title: Construct a 2-dimensional macroscale solution across space. A diagram of repeated grids indicate the patches, with red axes indicating the larger macroscale domain.

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Matt Mack @matthras.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

You might think "Wait, wouldn't existing knowledge of the macroscale system already help us with this?" Imagine if we knew how individual particles behaved, but no clue (therefore equation-free) on how the larger macroscale system functions. #ANZIAM2025 3/6

Presentation slide with title: Equation free macroscale modelling. Giving a general overview. Github repository for Judy's code can be found at https://github.com/uoa1184615/EquationFreeGit

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