Alan J. Cain

Alan J. Cain✓

Mastodon @ajcain@mathstodon.xyz
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Followers
200
Account age
1 yrs

Known for

Big update to ‘Form & Number: A History of Mathematical Beauty’: the PDFs are now *tagged* (plus various minor improvements). A #TaggedPDF contains hidden extra semantic information to assist screen-reading software etc., including alt text for diagrams+images (in the case of ‘F&N’, 552 pieces of alt text were required, some quite lengthy). The new version is available (#OpenAccess as always) at: 26 views Big update to ‘Form & Number: A History of Mathematical Beauty’: the PDFs are now *tagged* (plus various minor improvements). A #TaggedPDF contains hidden extra semantic information to assist screen-reading software etc., including alt text for diagrams+images (in the case of ‘F&N’, 552 pieces of alt text were required, some quite lengthy). The new version is available (#OpenAccess as always) at: New version of my #LuaLaTeX style "minos". Git repository: https://codeberg.org/ajcain/minos Download documentation or source .zip/.tar.gz: https://codeberg.org/ajcain/minos/releases - Many improvements related to creating #TaggedPDF, notably using template code for theorems and sectioning when \DocumentMetadata is used. - Various new/adjusted/fixed kerning customizations. #typography #TeXLaTeΧ25 views New version of my #LuaLaTeX style "minos". Git repository: https://codeberg.org/ajcain/minos Download documentation or source .zip/.tar.gz: https://codeberg.org/ajcain/minos/releases - Many improvements related to creating #TaggedPDF, notably using template code for theorems and sectioning when \DocumentMetadata is used. - Various new/adjusted/fixed kerning customizations. #typography #TeXLaTeΧ Slightly late announcement of an update to my book ‘Form & Number: A History of Mathematical Beauty’ [https://archive.org/details/cain_formandnumber_ebook_large] (#OA as always). Karl Berry, treasurer of the TeX Users Group and one of its journal editors, has completed the Heraclean task of proof-reading the entire book (including the bibliography and index!). Based on Karl’s innumerable comments,14 views Slightly late announcement of an update to my book ‘Form & Number: A History of Mathematical Beauty’ [https://archive.org/details/cain_formandnumber_ebook_large] (#OA as always). Karl Berry, treasurer of the TeX Users Group and one of its journal editors, has completed the Heraclean task of proof-reading the entire book (including the bibliography and index!). Based on Karl’s innumerable comments, My #semigroups lecture notes ‘Nine Chapters on the Semigroup Art’ are now accessible #TaggedPDF files: https://archive.org/details/cain_semigroups_a4_screen I have been working to update my LuaLaTeX style "minos" [https://codeberg.org/ajcain/minos] to use the new interfaces created by the LaTeX tagging project, and this is the latest outcome [https://latex3.github.io/tagging-project/]. Besides add13 views My #semigroups lecture notes ‘Nine Chapters on the Semigroup Art’ are now accessible #TaggedPDF files: https://archive.org/details/cain_semigroups_a4_screen I have been working to update my LuaLaTeX style "minos" [https://codeberg.org/ajcain/minos] to use the new interfaces created by the LaTeX tagging project, and this is the latest outcome [https://latex3.github.io/tagging-project/]. Besides add

📊 Post engagement

9
Avg engagement / post
4.5%
Engagement vs followers
Jun 2025
On Mastodon since

🔥 Top post: Big update to ‘Form & Number: A History of Mathematical Beauty’: · 26 likes + reposts

📊 Activity & format

Posting cadence
1.6 / week
A lower-frequency account — each post lands with more weight.
Content mix
Mostly images
Recent: 5 text · 7 image · 0 video.
Follower / following
1.8×
Follows 112 back. A more reciprocal / networked account.

Recent posts

View on Mastodon ↗
🔥 Top post Big update to ‘Form & Number: A History of Mathematical Beauty’: the PDFs are now *tagged* (plus various minor improvements). A #TaggedPDF contains hidden extra semantic information to assist screen-reading software etc., including alt text for diagrams+images (in the case of ‘F… ★ 26
Some notes on tagging ‘Form & Number’: - I had to implement basic tagged versions of a few things not yet covered by the tagging project, notably inline lists. (The code is in my "minos" style: https://codeberg.org/ajcain/minos, but is *ve… ★ 2 RE: https://graphics.social/@metin/116929283984909484 This article makes some very good points, but I also like that the author treated the word "data" as the countable plural of "datum", not as a mass noun. Hence: "fewer data". Perhaps sl… ★ 5 My #semigroups lecture notes ‘Nine Chapters on the Semigroup Art’ are now accessible #TaggedPDF files: https://archive.org/details/cain_semigroups_a4_screen I have been working to update my LuaLaTeX style "minos" [https://codeberg.org/ajca… ★ 13 Another update to my #LuaLaTeX style "minos", used in ‘Form & Number: A History of Mathematical Beauty’ and my other books (links in profile). Git repository: https://codeberg.org/ajcain/minos Download documentation or source .zip/.tar.gz:… ★ 5 ‘Bertrand Russell & Trinity: A college controversy of the last war’ is a pamphlet written by G.H. Hardy in 1942, giving an account of the dismissal of Russell from his Trinity College lectureship in 1916 following his criminal conviction f… ★ 7 New version of my #LuaLaTeX style "minos". Git repository: https://codeberg.org/ajcain/minos Download documentation or source .zip/.tar.gz: https://codeberg.org/ajcain/minos/releases - Many improvements related to creating #TaggedPDF, nota… ★ 25 RE: https://hcommons.social/@bho/116770184058726900 One thing I would add to this article is that the Biodiversity Heritage Library has scans of many older general scientific journals (not just those related to biology/life sciences), whic… ★ 8 Slightly late announcement of an update to my book ‘Form & Number: A History of Mathematical Beauty’ [https://archive.org/details/cain_formandnumber_ebook_large] (#OA as always). Karl Berry, treasurer of the TeX Users Group and one of its … ★ 14 Before (1st attached image): Details of the Bulgarian translation of ‘A Mathematician’s Apology’ with the title set in Russian Cyrillic. After (2nd attached image): Details of the Bulgarian translation of ‘A Mathematician’s Apology’ with t… ★ 1 RE: https://mas.to/@magistau/116705746662851664 This fascinating post on the variation of Cyrillic between languages led me to realize that I had used Russian Cyrillic for the Bulgarian title of G.H. Hardy’s ‘A Mathematician’s Apology’ in … ★ 2 A couple of other important features: - "Fihrist" can scan a directory for files it does not yet know, extracting/fetching their metadata when possible, and presenting them in turn for the user to edit the metadata and save. It also intell… ★ 1

🐘 Community & instance

Home server
mathstodon.xyz
Their home server on the fediverse — the instance a creator picks signals the community they belong to.
✅ Link-verified
Verified link
Proved ownership of a website linked on their profile — Mastodon's green-check verification, a real identity signal rather than a paid badge.
On Mastodon since
Jun 2025
An established account with real history on the platform.

💡 Facts

🗓️Joined Mastodon in 2025 — 1 year ago.
👁️Averages 9 views per post.
📤Posts about 1.6× per week.

🛡️ Audience credibility

84/100 Excellent
  • Est. 95% real, active audience · Low fake-follower risk.
  • Strong engagement (~4.5% of followers engage each post) — an active, real audience.
  • Verified account.
Est. authentic audience
95%
Fake-follower risk
Low
Data confidence
High

Heuristic estimate from engagement, follower ratios, account age & growth — a screening signal, not a guarantee.

About

Mathematician/philosopher/historian/typographer. Author of #OpenAccess books: • ‘Form & Number: A History of Mathematical Beauty’ [https://archive.org/details/cain_formandnumber_ebook_large]; • an annotated edition, with commentary, of G.H. Hardy’s ‘A Mathematician’s Apology’ [https://archive.org/details/hardy_annotated]; • ‘Nine Chapters on the Semigroup Art’ [https://archive.org/details/cain_semigroups_a4_screen]

📸 Gallery

Big update to ‘Form & Number: A History of Mathematical Beauty’: the PDFs are now *tagged* (plus various minor improvements). A #TaggedPDF contains hidden extra semantic information to assist screen-reading software etc., including alt text for diagrams+images (in the case of ‘F&N’, 552 pieces of alt text were required, some quite lengthy). The new version is available (#OpenAccess as always) at: My #semigroups lecture notes ‘Nine Chapters on the Semigroup Art’ are now accessible #TaggedPDF files: https://archive.org/details/cain_semigroups_a4_screen I have been working to update my LuaLaTeX style "minos" [https://codeberg.org/ajcain/minos] to use the new interfaces created by the LaTeX tagging project, and this is the latest outcome [https://latex3.github.io/tagging-project/]. Besides add Another update to my #LuaLaTeX style "minos", used in ‘Form & Number: A History of Mathematical Beauty’ and my other books (links in profile). Git repository: https://codeberg.org/ajcain/minos Download documentation or source .zip/.tar.gz: https://codeberg.org/ajcain/minos/releases Improvements mostly concern #TaggedPDF-related features: - Sidenotes are now tagged as *notes* (same as footnotes), n ‘Bertrand Russell & Trinity: A college controversy of the last war’ is a pamphlet written by G.H. Hardy in 1942, giving an account of the dismissal of Russell from his Trinity College lectureship in 1916 following his criminal conviction for anti-war political activity. (Hardy was at the time a fellow of Trinity and opposed Russell's ouster.) Since there was no downloadable ebook, I made a re-type New version of my #LuaLaTeX style "minos". Git repository: https://codeberg.org/ajcain/minos Download documentation or source .zip/.tar.gz: https://codeberg.org/ajcain/minos/releases - Many improvements related to creating #TaggedPDF, notably using template code for theorems and sectioning when \DocumentMetadata is used. - Various new/adjusted/fixed kerning customizations. #typography #TeXLaTeΧ Slightly late announcement of an update to my book ‘Form & Number: A History of Mathematical Beauty’ [https://archive.org/details/cain_formandnumber_ebook_large] (#OA as always). Karl Berry, treasurer of the TeX Users Group and one of its journal editors, has completed the Heraclean task of proof-reading the entire book (including the bibliography and index!). Based on Karl’s innumerable comments, Before (1st attached image): Details of the Bulgarian translation of ‘A Mathematician’s Apology’ with the title set in Russian Cyrillic. After (2nd attached image): Details of the Bulgarian translation of ‘A Mathematician’s Apology’ with the title set in Bulgarian Cyrillic. 2/2

🔀 Audience overlap

Estimated

Estimated shared audience with similar creators — useful for avoiding overlap (or doubling down) when planning a campaign.

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