constructing array using non-adjacent columns

[Nick X Wonder]

Is there a way to do the following without VBA? I want to do matrix
operations (e.g., minverse) on a matrix that consists of non-adjacent
columns. I see that I can type in individual numbers separated by ; to
create a matrix, but is there some way to select rows or columns and link
them in a formula that can be copied and pasted? I have lots of data and
would like each Excel column to consist of several columns in a matrix. As
an example, one matrix, call it 1X, is {A1:A40, A41:A80, A81:A120, A121:A160}
with the commas representing new columns. A separate matrix is A161:A200;
call it 1Y. Then cell A201 is
mmult(minverse(mmult(transpose(1X),1X)),mmult(Transpose(1X),1Y)) . I would
have another set of matrices in column B with the same cell formula in B201,
etc.
Thanks!