Michael Plank
@michaelplanknz.bsky.social
Professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Canterbury, NZ. Fellow @royalsocietynz.bsky.social. Math modelling in biology and epidemiology. Bicycles make the world a better place. He/him
https://www.math.canterbury.ac.nz/~m.plank/
https://www.math.canterbury.ac.nz/~m.plank/
What's even the point of this?
October 2, 2025 at 11:58 PM
What's even the point of this?
I think data is normalized by flow and population
esr-cri.shinyapps.io/wastewater/#...
esr-cri.shinyapps.io/wastewater/#...
September 15, 2025 at 10:37 PM
I think data is normalized by flow and population
esr-cri.shinyapps.io/wastewater/#...
esr-cri.shinyapps.io/wastewater/#...
Auckland went from a strict lockdown in Sep to being largely open by Dec. So why did cases peak in Nov and come down to ~50 per day by end of Dec? Well, the % fully vaccinated rose from around 30% in Sep to almost 90% by the end of the year.
September 3, 2025 at 4:41 AM
Auckland went from a strict lockdown in Sep to being largely open by Dec. So why did cases peak in Nov and come down to ~50 per day by end of Dec? Well, the % fully vaccinated rose from around 30% in Sep to almost 90% by the end of the year.
And another bit of evidence that’s very difficult to explain if you don’t think vaccines reduced transmission – here’s MOH data on Covid-19 cases during the Delta outbreak.
September 3, 2025 at 4:41 AM
And another bit of evidence that’s very difficult to explain if you don’t think vaccines reduced transmission – here’s MOH data on Covid-19 cases during the Delta outbreak.
PBRF certainly had its faults, but this sounds 😬😬😬
September 1, 2025 at 9:27 PM
PBRF certainly had its faults, but this sounds 😬😬😬
What cutting cycleways would really save ratepayers
Answer: 3/5ths of naff all as these excellent graphs show
www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
Answer: 3/5ths of naff all as these excellent graphs show
www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
August 23, 2025 at 7:30 AM
What cutting cycleways would really save ratepayers
Answer: 3/5ths of naff all as these excellent graphs show
www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
Answer: 3/5ths of naff all as these excellent graphs show
www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/3607...
Appalled at the move to disallow voter registration on election day & in the 12 days prior (which >15% of the electorate did last time). No matter what your political allegiances are, erecting barriers to voting is discriminatory and anti-democratic.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
July 24, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Appalled at the move to disallow voter registration on election day & in the 12 days prior (which >15% of the electorate did last time). No matter what your political allegiances are, erecting barriers to voting is discriminatory and anti-democratic.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
TBF it looks like Simeon had a slice
July 15, 2025 at 3:34 AM
TBF it looks like Simeon had a slice
My jaw hit the floor when I read this. Apparently there are more deaths when immigration is high because they take all the houses?
July 11, 2025 at 7:18 AM
My jaw hit the floor when I read this. Apparently there are more deaths when immigration is high because they take all the houses?
Grand Col Ferret, Swiss-Italian border, 2017
June 24, 2025 at 7:06 AM
Grand Col Ferret, Swiss-Italian border, 2017
Col de Balme, French-Swiss border, 2017
June 23, 2025 at 7:16 AM
Col de Balme, French-Swiss border, 2017
Feels very ThisIsFine.gif but I'm going to try and do a few more of these
Twilight on the Gamack Range, winter 2015
Twilight on the Gamack Range, winter 2015
June 22, 2025 at 6:40 AM
Feels very ThisIsFine.gif but I'm going to try and do a few more of these
Twilight on the Gamack Range, winter 2015
Twilight on the Gamack Range, winter 2015
And this is a pretty damning indictment of rich western countries, particularly those sitting on large vaccine stockpiles
June 10, 2025 at 8:59 AM
And this is a pretty damning indictment of rich western countries, particularly those sitting on large vaccine stockpiles
Covid levels have been historically low in NZ for the past 12 months but the signs are a new wave may be starting: noticeable increase in wastewater in last couple of weeks, variant with a moderate growth advantage (NB.1.8.1), uptick in cases.
May 29, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Covid levels have been historically low in NZ for the past 12 months but the signs are a new wave may be starting: noticeable increase in wastewater in last couple of weeks, variant with a moderate growth advantage (NB.1.8.1), uptick in cases.
Look what arrived in the mail! Thanks @hendysh.bsky.social. Recommended reading for anyone interested in New Zealand's Covid response, and what it was like to be involved as a scientist.
May 14, 2025 at 4:13 AM
Look what arrived in the mail! Thanks @hendysh.bsky.social. Recommended reading for anyone interested in New Zealand's Covid response, and what it was like to be involved as a scientist.
I am not very popular
May 1, 2025 at 6:42 AM
I am not very popular
Tough week ahead at CIRM Marseille thinking about Analysis and modelling for the design of future epidemic surveillance systems
April 28, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Tough week ahead at CIRM Marseille thinking about Analysis and modelling for the design of future epidemic surveillance systems
It finally happened - I found something I couldn't do in Matlab. Guess I'm an R user now 🤔
April 10, 2025 at 4:43 AM
It finally happened - I found something I couldn't do in Matlab. Guess I'm an R user now 🤔
Sounds like this again? (which was a comment on the 2022 Al-Aly 1st vs 2nd infection study):
April 4, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Sounds like this again? (which was a comment on the 2022 Al-Aly 1st vs 2nd infection study):
In which the govt discovers that voters in one of the most National-leaning areas of the country *don't* want to go back to having vehicles drive through their community at 70. Who'd have thought?
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
February 8, 2025 at 1:09 AM
In which the govt discovers that voters in one of the most National-leaning areas of the country *don't* want to go back to having vehicles drive through their community at 70. Who'd have thought?
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
Umm, I think you mean second highest mountain in the North Island of NZ @australia.theguardian.com
Last I checked we were still part of the country
#DontForgetTheSouth
Last I checked we were still part of the country
#DontForgetTheSouth
January 30, 2025 at 6:12 AM
Umm, I think you mean second highest mountain in the North Island of NZ @australia.theguardian.com
Last I checked we were still part of the country
#DontForgetTheSouth
Last I checked we were still part of the country
#DontForgetTheSouth
Using LLMs for moderately difficult maths problems is just painful
January 28, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Using LLMs for moderately difficult maths problems is just painful
Agreed and yes the study did looks at this. Here are the HRs stratified by vaccination status:
January 19, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Agreed and yes the study did looks at this. Here are the HRs stratified by vaccination status: