WEBVTT - Karlie Noon – Blazing Trails in Science and Indigenous Knowledge 0:00:04.111 --> 0:00:09.151 Podcast Unite Our Voices. This podcast is brought to you 0:00:09.191 --> 0:00:19.471 by on Track Studio. Welcome to Yannier, the podcast that 0:00:19.591 --> 0:00:25.351 showcases First Nations stories and conversations to help us learn 0:00:25.631 --> 0:00:31.231 and unlearn Australia's history to work towards a better future. 0:00:32.151 --> 0:00:35.631 I'm your host, proud barber woman and founder of Black 0:00:35.711 --> 0:00:43.031 Wattel Coaching and Consulting, Caroline cow We acknowledge the rundery 0:00:43.151 --> 0:00:46.951 people and elders where this podcast is taped, but we 0:00:47.031 --> 0:00:51.071 also acknowledge the lands that you are listening in from today. 0:00:52.031 --> 0:00:56.391 It always was and always will be unseated Aboriginal and 0:00:56.511 --> 0:01:02.311 tourist Red Islander Land. Well, I'm so excited about today's 0:01:02.311 --> 0:01:06.551 conversation as some one who has i'd say, spent many 0:01:06.671 --> 0:01:10.871 years observing and pondering and screaming and looking into the 0:01:10.911 --> 0:01:15.111 sky ex essentially sort of crying out at times. I'm 0:01:15.111 --> 0:01:19.751 really grateful to be joined today by Karli Alinta noon 0:01:20.831 --> 0:01:26.631 A gamill Roy, author, astronomer, astrophysicists. I'd probably go so 0:01:26.711 --> 0:01:28.991 far as any black fellow to say in activists, who's 0:01:29.031 --> 0:01:33.711 really radically changing things? The first Aboriginal woman to graduate 0:01:34.111 --> 0:01:37.551 with a double degree in maths and science and just 0:01:37.591 --> 0:01:40.711 an all round legend who is really changing how we 0:01:41.311 --> 0:01:46.551 come to know aboriginal science. So I'm so grateful for 0:01:46.591 --> 0:01:49.231 you being here today. Welcome to Yanni Up. 0:01:49.471 --> 0:01:53.351 Thank you so much of my goodness. That was like 0:01:53.431 --> 0:02:00.071 the best intro I've ever received. I think, Oh, bless you, Oh, 0:02:00.151 --> 0:02:02.831 thank you so much for having me. I was so excited. 0:02:03.231 --> 0:02:05.431 I feel really lucky to be here. You know, I 0:02:05.471 --> 0:02:08.031 feel like yawning up. You know, from the outset looking in, 0:02:08.071 --> 0:02:11.391 it looks like a really deadly family. So I'm really 0:02:11.631 --> 0:02:12.751 stoked to be a part of it. 0:02:13.511 --> 0:02:17.351 Bless you so right, it is a big giant kinship, 0:02:17.471 --> 0:02:21.751 and yeah, the feeling is so mutual. And yeah, I 0:02:21.791 --> 0:02:24.311 mean I must say, even looking at your bio in 0:02:24.391 --> 0:02:27.271 trying to surmise all of the wonderful things you have 0:02:27.431 --> 0:02:33.071 done and continuing to do, was not an easy feat. 0:02:33.231 --> 0:02:37.711 You are a hugely accomplished scholar doing such phenomenal work. 0:02:37.871 --> 0:02:41.551 So I'm excited to learn more not only about your work, 0:02:41.631 --> 0:02:44.111 but more about you. Sis. You know who you are 0:02:44.271 --> 0:02:48.471 and what's laid you to this part. So yeah, I 0:02:48.511 --> 0:02:50.511 guess you know. With that in mind, we always like 0:02:50.551 --> 0:02:52.591 to sort of start by just asking our guests to 0:02:53.471 --> 0:02:57.431 introduce themselves how they you know, would like to be introduced, 0:02:57.511 --> 0:03:00.791 or to describe themselves how they want to be described. 0:03:00.911 --> 0:03:02.551 Look, every time I do this, I think it's a 0:03:02.551 --> 0:03:07.471 bit different. But you know, I grew up on country, 0:03:07.551 --> 0:03:09.831 on Camillary country. I was really lucky. I was really 0:03:09.831 --> 0:03:14.111 blessed that I had that, and you know, still have 0:03:14.191 --> 0:03:18.271 that grounding me to this day. I grew up with 0:03:18.311 --> 0:03:21.471 my mum and my sister and a big line of 0:03:22.111 --> 0:03:28.231 matriarchs before me. My family is so like women dominated. 0:03:29.631 --> 0:03:32.071 We don't have many many in our families. So the 0:03:32.511 --> 0:03:35.951 women were just running wild. My mum and my sister 0:03:35.991 --> 0:03:40.231 had it pretty rough. They were, you know, very able 0:03:40.471 --> 0:03:45.191 in their bodily capacity. You know, I had a lot 0:03:45.191 --> 0:03:50.351 of health problems, a lot of social problems. You know, 0:03:50.431 --> 0:03:53.351 we grew up very very poor. We grew up in 0:03:53.391 --> 0:03:57.871 a suburb called cold Ol in Tamworth, which you know 0:03:58.191 --> 0:04:02.711 I love and I'm so proud to come from there 0:04:04.271 --> 0:04:06.511 and you know, go back and visit as much as 0:04:06.551 --> 0:04:10.191 I can. And but you know, it was rough and 0:04:10.231 --> 0:04:13.431 it's you know, you don't know that when you're going up, 0:04:13.591 --> 0:04:15.431 you know, you just do what you've got to do. 0:04:17.031 --> 0:04:21.271 But today, like, I'm so freaking blessed. I'm so freaking 0:04:21.351 --> 0:04:25.191 lucky that for so many reasons that I was born 0:04:25.911 --> 0:04:33.271 you know, with a relatively able body, you know, and 0:04:33.791 --> 0:04:38.751 I had a huge amount of passion and motivation and determination, 0:04:39.111 --> 0:04:41.791 like you know, to help my mom out, help my 0:04:41.871 --> 0:04:45.831 sister out. I always you know, wanted to be the 0:04:45.911 --> 0:04:48.671 one who could like buy the mayhouse and all this, 0:04:50.191 --> 0:04:53.391 and still haven't quite made it there, but still trying, 0:04:53.791 --> 0:04:57.271 still still working. That's a work in progress. Yeah, I 0:04:58.351 --> 0:05:02.151 do astronomy stuff and science stuff. I often think like 0:05:02.511 --> 0:05:06.751 anyone who was in the same situation that I was 0:05:06.791 --> 0:05:10.351 born in would probably be in a very similar place. 0:05:10.671 --> 0:05:15.391 Like I had all this support and motivation from my family, 0:05:15.511 --> 0:05:17.271 not just my mom and my sister, but from my 0:05:17.311 --> 0:05:21.991 grandma as well, and you know, just people really cheering 0:05:22.031 --> 0:05:26.311 me on. And when I started to you know, get 0:05:26.351 --> 0:05:28.831 a bit of a name for myself. Not that I 0:05:28.911 --> 0:05:32.671 try to like bignoe myself too much these days, but 0:05:32.831 --> 0:05:37.111 like you know, when communities started hearing my name a 0:05:37.111 --> 0:05:40.471 bit more, like I had so many arnies back home 0:05:40.711 --> 0:05:44.191 just like cheering for me, and just like, you know, 0:05:44.871 --> 0:05:49.991 I really do feel really blessed and just the result 0:05:50.271 --> 0:05:54.991 of all of these matriarchs who are you know, come 0:05:55.031 --> 0:05:58.791 before me and kind of allowed me to have the 0:05:58.791 --> 0:06:01.991 perceptions that I have, to have the insight that I 0:06:02.071 --> 0:06:05.791 have inside the country, you know, the values that I 0:06:05.831 --> 0:06:10.871 have in country, in the sky, in people, you know, 0:06:11.231 --> 0:06:18.311 expecting that the utmost from people from you know, the government, 0:06:18.671 --> 0:06:22.951 all these things. So yeah, I don't know, I don't 0:06:22.951 --> 0:06:26.191 know if that describes myself very much. I guess like 0:06:26.351 --> 0:06:29.431 if they were like dot points, you know, it would be. 0:06:30.151 --> 0:06:35.551 So I'm a descendant from actually both capillary and Rovegerie nations. 0:06:35.791 --> 0:06:37.831 I'm getting a bit older now. I'm not old, but 0:06:37.871 --> 0:06:40.791 I'm getting a bit older, and I think that you know, 0:06:41.431 --> 0:06:44.591 I'm I'm thirty four now, and I've been doing this 0:06:44.591 --> 0:06:47.511 for a little bit for about fifteen years, you know, 0:06:47.591 --> 0:06:52.311 I've been kind of working professionally and doing like science 0:06:52.311 --> 0:06:56.431 communication and communication in general, and over that time, like, yeah, 0:06:56.711 --> 0:07:01.471 just that motivation from from back home really really pushed 0:07:01.471 --> 0:07:04.991 me through that and helped me with start and guided 0:07:04.991 --> 0:07:06.151 me through that as well. 0:07:06.231 --> 0:07:08.831 So I love it. I mean, this is why it's 0:07:08.831 --> 0:07:11.191 so beautiful to start there and as mob we do 0:07:11.231 --> 0:07:14.871 this so inherently, but I think it does start to 0:07:15.031 --> 0:07:17.631 give us a bit of a glimpse into you know, 0:07:17.871 --> 0:07:22.031 not just all of the wonderful contributions you've made, but 0:07:22.351 --> 0:07:25.511 hearing about your early life and you know, growing up 0:07:25.551 --> 0:07:30.791 on country surrounded by women who dominated and were bold 0:07:30.871 --> 0:07:35.791 and ambitious and unapologetic sounds like breeding grounds for somebody 0:07:35.871 --> 0:07:38.951 who can go ahead and achieve such milestone. So it's 0:07:39.271 --> 0:07:43.031 it's fascinating because that's all related to what you're you know, 0:07:43.631 --> 0:07:47.231 burthing into the world now, these these early experiences. So 0:07:47.631 --> 0:07:49.831 it's kind of really beautiful to hear that and that 0:07:50.111 --> 0:07:53.111 your family have been in your corner supporting you because 0:07:53.111 --> 0:07:56.031 we need it, because it's a heart I imagine being 0:07:56.071 --> 0:07:59.471 the first of anything for any mob, but particularly as 0:07:59.511 --> 0:08:02.511 a woman, especially as a person of color, you know, 0:08:02.631 --> 0:08:06.791 navigating an un charted traversing that on your own, you 0:08:06.871 --> 0:08:09.671 need that support behind you. So it's beautiful to hear 0:08:09.751 --> 0:08:10.271 my sister. 0:08:10.991 --> 0:08:14.551 Yeah, Like there were many times like I never you know, 0:08:14.591 --> 0:08:18.911 I never grew up particularly well educated, Like I spent 0:08:18.991 --> 0:08:21.671 a lot of time at home growing up. I didn't 0:08:21.711 --> 0:08:23.711 go to school very much. I was actually I would 0:08:23.751 --> 0:08:25.871 get in trouble a lot for not going to school 0:08:26.511 --> 0:08:29.551 and that's because you know, I had responsibility at home. 0:08:29.671 --> 0:08:34.471 I had to look after mum, and we're poor. You know, 0:08:34.671 --> 0:08:37.231 It's it's really hard to get to school and you 0:08:37.751 --> 0:08:40.351 don't have lunch, you don't have you don't have a 0:08:40.471 --> 0:08:44.471 washing machine, you don't have a uniform like and so 0:08:44.631 --> 0:08:48.391 like I was always playing catch up at school at UNI, 0:08:48.711 --> 0:08:51.791 like I was never you know, at the same level 0:08:51.831 --> 0:08:57.231 as my peers. And it's really freaking hard when you 0:08:57.351 --> 0:09:01.551 have so much going on in the outside to you know, 0:09:02.311 --> 0:09:06.431 get to the study and to go through that grind 0:09:06.591 --> 0:09:09.471 and go to the classes and you know, give your 0:09:09.511 --> 0:09:13.791 all to the assignments and the homework and all that, 0:09:14.791 --> 0:09:18.511 and to be so different all your peers who you know, 0:09:18.991 --> 0:09:22.631 this is this is the same for any any woman 0:09:22.711 --> 0:09:25.431 going through this as well, not just you know, not 0:09:25.551 --> 0:09:29.711 just indigenous or form a minority, but any woman going 0:09:29.751 --> 0:09:33.111 through science as well. You know, all your peers are male, 0:09:34.431 --> 0:09:39.471 and they're all incredibly privileged, which is just not relatable 0:09:39.591 --> 0:09:45.511 to a lot of us. So honestly, my mum, she 0:09:45.511 --> 0:09:47.591 she is one hundred percent of the reason I got there. 0:09:47.951 --> 0:09:51.351 And my sister, you know, when just those times when 0:09:51.351 --> 0:09:55.391 I'm so exhausted I'm sobern out, I'm so beaten by 0:09:55.431 --> 0:09:58.991 it all, and just to be able to call, you know, 0:09:59.511 --> 0:10:04.791 my family and and you know, cry and have doubts 0:10:04.831 --> 0:10:07.711 and be scared and just for them to just be 0:10:07.991 --> 0:10:13.311 cheeringly on the whole way. Just absolutely never question my 0:10:13.431 --> 0:10:17.791 ability to do it and never also never question what 0:10:17.831 --> 0:10:22.591 I'm doing, you know it can you can the amount 0:10:22.591 --> 0:10:24.831 of times I've questioned, you know, do I belong here? 0:10:24.831 --> 0:10:27.831 Like should I be here? It's this isn't really form, 0:10:27.991 --> 0:10:29.991 like this isn't built for me, so like why am 0:10:29.991 --> 0:10:33.751 I doing this? But for them? Like you know, my 0:10:33.831 --> 0:10:36.951 mom never knew what physics was. There was never something 0:10:37.031 --> 0:10:39.791 that you know, she she had to know what it was, 0:10:40.311 --> 0:10:42.511 but she never questioned that I could do it or 0:10:42.551 --> 0:10:44.751 that I should be there. And just having that like 0:10:45.671 --> 0:10:50.831 you know, unwavering support and love like I literally wouldn't 0:10:50.991 --> 0:10:52.231 wouldn't be here without it. 0:10:52.631 --> 0:10:56.431 Wow, I'm just taking that in because that's truly so 0:10:56.431 --> 0:11:00.431 so beautiful to hear, my sis, Because to have that 0:11:00.591 --> 0:11:04.311 unconditional love and acceptance when we need to draw on 0:11:04.391 --> 0:11:07.631 the strength and being grounded and humbled in an environment 0:11:07.711 --> 0:11:10.071 like you say, that's not built for us. We don't 0:11:10.111 --> 0:11:14.751 see ourselves. We have no privilege, our proximity to whiteness 0:11:14.791 --> 0:11:19.591 and imperialism, and our sense of identity and belonging. I 0:11:19.591 --> 0:11:22.151 imagine it would bring up a whole flurry of very 0:11:22.191 --> 0:11:26.231 normal feelings about my identity and my and my adequacy. 0:11:26.311 --> 0:11:29.671 And it's just beautiful to hear that throughout it that 0:11:29.751 --> 0:11:33.191 you had your family there. But I know also too 0:11:33.231 --> 0:11:36.471 that it's you know, it's a reciprocal thing. It was family, 0:11:36.511 --> 0:11:40.791 but it was also your ability to you know, push 0:11:40.871 --> 0:11:45.471 through and produce and do this as well. And with that, 0:11:45.631 --> 0:11:47.991 my sister, you know, I was reading, which I would 0:11:48.031 --> 0:11:50.271 love to understand. You know, I was reading and you 0:11:50.391 --> 0:11:53.711 mentioned it before that you know, you you, like most 0:11:53.711 --> 0:11:57.911 black followers who are struggling to survive and are caring 0:11:58.631 --> 0:12:01.751 to be self actualizing and learning and even getting ourselves 0:12:01.751 --> 0:12:05.111 to school is a hard feat. And so I read 0:12:05.151 --> 0:12:07.871 you know that growing up you didn't really like science 0:12:08.031 --> 0:12:12.551 or maths or anything. So what was the shift from say, 0:12:12.671 --> 0:12:16.071 you know, yeah, early life family into going right, I'm 0:12:16.071 --> 0:12:19.991 going to try my hand at becoming an astrophysicist and 0:12:20.071 --> 0:12:23.351 a scientist. What was there was there a change within 0:12:23.431 --> 0:12:26.551 yourself and was it sort of supported by the environment. 0:12:26.791 --> 0:12:31.311 Was there anything that led to it? Yeah, king to 0:12:31.311 --> 0:12:32.831 to know the journey. 0:12:33.111 --> 0:12:35.871 That's a really great question. And you know, it's something 0:12:35.911 --> 0:12:38.871 that I've spent a lot of time reflecting on. And 0:12:39.191 --> 0:12:41.991 it wasn't like one change. It was. It was so 0:12:42.111 --> 0:12:45.351 many different things kind of all coming together for it 0:12:45.471 --> 0:12:48.511 to you know, end up like this. I think that 0:12:48.791 --> 0:12:51.711 one of the earliest and biggest things that impacted me 0:12:52.431 --> 0:12:55.711 was so my grandma had had this really close friend 0:12:56.711 --> 0:12:59.991 and you know this she was. She was an older lady. 0:13:00.071 --> 0:13:02.831 She was an older Aboriginal lady, and you know, she 0:13:02.871 --> 0:13:06.511 had many grains kids and she was just this the 0:13:06.711 --> 0:13:11.511 loveliest woman. And she'd come down to coldal and she 0:13:11.511 --> 0:13:15.111 should go to like a bunch of you know, family 0:13:15.191 --> 0:13:19.471 homes and tut to us. Tutor us are free for 0:13:19.631 --> 0:13:22.591 you know, the kids who were struggling a bit, not 0:13:22.751 --> 0:13:25.591 really engaging with school. And she, you know, she had 0:13:25.591 --> 0:13:29.391 gone to UNI and she had this this you know, 0:13:29.591 --> 0:13:34.711 flash job, and it was like it was kind of multifaceted. 0:13:35.191 --> 0:13:40.071 Like it was really impactful for me because it, you know, 0:13:40.231 --> 0:13:44.391 I was exposed to someone who had gone to university, 0:13:44.831 --> 0:13:47.951 gotten a job, was still working. You know. That was 0:13:47.991 --> 0:13:51.911 pretty pretty rare in my family. Well for a bunch 0:13:51.951 --> 0:13:56.351 of reasons, but mostly just you know, when you're struggling 0:13:56.391 --> 0:14:02.631 with multiple disabilities, it's just not viable. The workforce is 0:14:02.751 --> 0:14:08.351 just not accessible for you. And so, you know, I'd 0:14:08.431 --> 0:14:12.791 never really seen examples of that before, so being exposed 0:14:12.871 --> 0:14:16.591 to this deadly, deadly Annie and for her to help, 0:14:16.951 --> 0:14:19.391 just out of the kindness of her heart, you know, 0:14:19.551 --> 0:14:23.511 I wanted to do her so proud. And she would 0:14:23.591 --> 0:14:27.191 come and she would would play these little mass games 0:14:27.911 --> 0:14:30.551 and you know, would be giggling and I'd be laughing, 0:14:30.631 --> 0:14:32.871 and I'd get one wrong and she would, you know, 0:14:33.071 --> 0:14:35.751 make fun of it, and you know, it just turned 0:14:35.751 --> 0:14:39.671 it into this really instead of being like shamed for 0:14:39.711 --> 0:14:42.271 not knowing anything, you know, she just made it this 0:14:42.911 --> 0:14:47.391 like an opportunity to learn this fun thing that i'dn't 0:14:47.671 --> 0:14:52.271 really honestly never experienced before. And I know so many 0:14:52.351 --> 0:14:57.431 kids out there have that same experience where school is 0:14:57.591 --> 0:15:01.831 not fun, school is rough. School is you know, it 0:15:01.871 --> 0:15:07.991 can be the most isolating an ostracizing thing when you know, 0:15:08.311 --> 0:15:13.831 when your mom, when you're when you're poor, when you know, 0:15:13.911 --> 0:15:16.711 for me, I was always the scabby kid, always the 0:15:16.791 --> 0:15:21.111 stinky kid like all of these things, right, but she 0:15:21.351 --> 0:15:27.471 just really yeah, turned mass into this really fun, enjoyable 0:15:27.791 --> 0:15:30.391 thing for me. So I think that was definitely the 0:15:30.431 --> 0:15:33.351 biggest impact. And she taught me a lot. She taught 0:15:33.351 --> 0:15:39.311 me that I don't need to depend on school to learn, 0:15:40.791 --> 0:15:44.871 and and that's something that has that that was honestly 0:15:44.911 --> 0:15:48.671 a gift that just keeps giving up until now. So 0:15:48.751 --> 0:15:51.831 like I'm doing my PhD, I spend all of my time, 0:15:52.511 --> 0:15:57.871 you know, learning on my own. It's it's completely self driven. 0:15:58.351 --> 0:16:00.591 And and that was something that she taught me how 0:16:00.631 --> 0:16:05.951 to do. But when when science, you know, I didn't 0:16:05.991 --> 0:16:09.791 go into science initially, I always wanted to go to UNI, 0:16:09.911 --> 0:16:12.031 you know, as I said, I wanted to get my mom, 0:16:12.351 --> 0:16:16.431 get my mom the house. So I didn't go into 0:16:16.431 --> 0:16:20.031 science initially. I went into I went into arts. I 0:16:20.111 --> 0:16:23.351 was really into ancient history, and so I went into 0:16:23.391 --> 0:16:27.111 ancient history and did a few different things. Did some sociology, 0:16:27.231 --> 0:16:30.151 did some religion, some philosophy. Just was kind of all 0:16:30.151 --> 0:16:35.711 over the place, and I just kind of stumbled across physics. 0:16:36.631 --> 0:16:43.071 I I was learning about the multiverse. I was reading 0:16:43.071 --> 0:16:47.231 a book by Stephen Hawking for a philosophy course. And 0:16:47.311 --> 0:16:49.271 I just you know, it was the first time I'd 0:16:49.271 --> 0:16:52.311 ever really been exposed to physics. I was not someone 0:16:52.391 --> 0:16:56.311 who had access to you know, science or anythink at 0:16:56.311 --> 0:17:00.511 school that was you know that I was legitimately told 0:17:00.751 --> 0:17:05.151 that physics was for boys at high school. So like, 0:17:05.311 --> 0:17:07.671 I just it wasn't even a thing in my mind. 0:17:07.791 --> 0:17:11.591 I was just like, that's not for me. But then 0:17:11.631 --> 0:17:14.031 when I read this book, I was like, what, this 0:17:14.111 --> 0:17:18.871 is the most interesting thing I've ever learned, Like why 0:17:18.911 --> 0:17:22.191 have I not known about this before now? And then 0:17:22.271 --> 0:17:27.271 I was just so like just captured by it, like 0:17:27.591 --> 0:17:31.471 I just yeah, became I just fell in love, to 0:17:31.511 --> 0:17:35.591 be honest, and was just like I want to do this, 0:17:35.751 --> 0:17:38.391 like if I could do anything. And I already felt 0:17:38.471 --> 0:17:41.231 like I was living the dream, right. I got into 0:17:41.351 --> 0:17:45.431 UNI like no one in my family had had been 0:17:45.471 --> 0:17:47.871 them before or experienced it before. So it was like, 0:17:48.711 --> 0:17:52.751 all right, I have this opportunity. I'm going to make 0:17:52.791 --> 0:17:55.351 the most of it, and I'm going to do something 0:17:55.471 --> 0:18:00.111 that excites me and interests me and that I want 0:18:00.111 --> 0:18:03.511 to do. And so yeah, that was it. I just transferred. 0:18:03.711 --> 0:18:09.031 Well and then you know what followed was years and 0:18:09.111 --> 0:18:12.791 years and years of a lot of hard work and 0:18:14.191 --> 0:18:19.031 a lot of learning, and a lot of picking myself 0:18:19.071 --> 0:18:21.991 back up. And I think that, you know, I don't 0:18:22.031 --> 0:18:27.631 really have any amazing skills or anything like that. I'm 0:18:27.631 --> 0:18:31.711 not particularly bright or anything like that. But my skill 0:18:31.751 --> 0:18:35.671 set is picking being able to pick myself back up. 0:18:36.511 --> 0:18:39.071 That's that's what it's kind of gotten me here. So 0:18:39.511 --> 0:18:42.911 I think, yeah, that's that's what I have to thank 0:18:43.031 --> 0:18:43.831 to be honest. 0:18:44.551 --> 0:18:47.631 Wow, gosh, just taking that in, you know, having a 0:18:47.991 --> 0:18:52.791 majoring in being able to yeah, push through the adversity 0:18:52.991 --> 0:18:56.671 and all of the things. Wow, it's so so powerful. 0:18:56.711 --> 0:18:58.951 And I guess I just wonder whether that Annie girl 0:18:59.111 --> 0:19:05.871 knows how her guidance and you know, her ability to 0:19:05.951 --> 0:19:09.831 teach and inspire would have known, like if she could 0:19:09.911 --> 0:19:13.351 even conceptualize into the future, that that would have led 0:19:13.391 --> 0:19:16.351 to you going on this path. And and like you say, 0:19:16.391 --> 0:19:19.951 I think the beautiful realization that you know, a degree 0:19:20.111 --> 0:19:26.871 or the the qualification doesn't necessarily make you. It doesn't 0:19:26.911 --> 0:19:29.751 make or break you, but it will help you. But 0:19:29.991 --> 0:19:33.311 what's going on inside here is always the fundamentally most 0:19:33.351 --> 0:19:36.951 important part of the journey of the learning of self 0:19:37.031 --> 0:19:40.991 and and and the struggle. Like it's like you say, 0:19:43.111 --> 0:19:46.471 it's special to hear that that role that that Arni 0:19:46.551 --> 0:19:51.031 played in inspiring you and making mauth is fun. Like, yeah, ways, 0:19:51.191 --> 0:19:53.751 I love that a legend. 0:19:55.351 --> 0:20:01.191 People people study for years to learn that to be 0:20:01.271 --> 0:20:03.631 able to do that and still fail. Like, but I 0:20:03.631 --> 0:20:06.711 I think the biggest thing that Annie had was that 0:20:06.751 --> 0:20:12.071 she believed in us, right. She believed in not you know, 0:20:12.191 --> 0:20:15.711 not necessarily like our potential or whatever. It wasn't that 0:20:15.751 --> 0:20:21.551 she believed in our worth. She saw us as worthy 0:20:21.831 --> 0:20:24.511 to have access to these things, to have access to 0:20:24.551 --> 0:20:29.311 the world. Right when you grow up extremely poor in 0:20:29.791 --> 0:20:34.511 a place like Cold Ol, you don't have many options 0:20:35.231 --> 0:20:38.791 and you have very you know, you have people that 0:20:39.031 --> 0:20:45.151 just inherently hate you. Your teachers, your peers, they just 0:20:46.191 --> 0:20:49.511 because because of all those things, right, because you are different, 0:20:49.511 --> 0:20:54.151 because you're poor, because you know, they you're everything that 0:20:54.231 --> 0:21:00.591 they fear to become themselves. And yeah, so I think 0:21:00.671 --> 0:21:03.391 you know, it was it was really our usability to 0:21:03.391 --> 0:21:08.471 be to see us as as as people and worthy 0:21:08.511 --> 0:21:08.991 of love. 0:21:09.671 --> 0:21:16.151 M Wow, so truly special. And you know, I think 0:21:16.191 --> 0:21:19.831 with that, it's just a reminder of our oldest teachers 0:21:19.591 --> 0:21:24.511 on earth and which are our elders, you know, and yeah, 0:21:24.551 --> 0:21:27.471 that we all are worthy and you're right, like you know, 0:21:27.551 --> 0:21:31.351 when you there's this sort of nexus to with class 0:21:31.351 --> 0:21:35.191 and race that we do internalize that sense of belonging 0:21:35.591 --> 0:21:40.031 and that sense of inadequacy. We have to do double 0:21:40.071 --> 0:21:43.951 the work with less the resources, and you know, we're 0:21:44.191 --> 0:21:48.431 in chronically unsafe environments and we're met with, you know, 0:21:48.591 --> 0:21:53.191 this unwavering sort of disdain that we don't belong and 0:21:53.271 --> 0:21:56.391 so you know, I just want to say, yeah, I'm 0:21:56.431 --> 0:22:00.191 so enamored and with the ability to just keep going. 0:22:00.311 --> 0:22:02.551 Like you say, there's so many times, I mean, my 0:22:02.631 --> 0:22:05.391 research or my work nowhere near extensive, where I've thought 0:22:05.431 --> 0:22:08.671 of giving up halfway and just thought is this, you know, 0:22:08.751 --> 0:22:10.911 could I just go work in a coffee shop and 0:22:11.231 --> 0:22:15.231 just deal with you know, the mundane and whether I 0:22:15.271 --> 0:22:18.791 would feel fulfilled? And it's such a heart led space 0:22:18.871 --> 0:22:22.031 when you're pouring into this work, especially the work you're doing. 0:22:22.951 --> 0:22:26.511 So I appreciate learning more about you, my Cisio. It's 0:22:26.551 --> 0:22:29.711 beautiful to hear your personal story, and I just know 0:22:29.791 --> 0:22:32.031 that would resonate with a lot of people to who 0:22:32.071 --> 0:22:34.191 have the world on their shoulders. When we get out 0:22:34.231 --> 0:22:36.951 of poverty and the struggle too. You know, it's such 0:22:37.031 --> 0:22:40.991 a it's such a nuance like spectrum conversation. 0:22:41.271 --> 0:22:45.591 Hey, I guess, you know, for the lay people like 0:22:45.711 --> 0:22:49.751 myself or just people who don't know, could we maybe 0:22:49.911 --> 0:22:53.511 unpack these you know, we might have a very superficial view. 0:22:53.591 --> 0:22:56.151 I think some of us know astronomy from you know, 0:22:56.311 --> 0:22:59.471 Instagram titles and things. But you know, I want to 0:22:59.551 --> 0:23:03.111 unpack you for those who might not know, what is 0:23:03.391 --> 0:23:06.911 an astronomer and an astrophysicist, Like what are some of 0:23:06.951 --> 0:23:10.911 the types of things that you have done or do 0:23:11.151 --> 0:23:14.591 in these fields of work? And then I want to 0:23:14.711 --> 0:23:19.271 overlay it with what's an aboriginal astronomers an aboriginal astrophysicist too? 0:23:20.591 --> 0:23:25.431 Of course, okayy, this is a fun question. So I 0:23:25.471 --> 0:23:28.511 guess you know, for a long time, just just by 0:23:28.631 --> 0:23:32.591 merit of how you know how the Western system works, 0:23:32.871 --> 0:23:36.111 you spend a hell of a lot of time just learning. 0:23:37.071 --> 0:23:39.431 You're just learning and learning and learning and taking it 0:23:39.471 --> 0:23:41.871 all in for years and years and years. And you know, 0:23:41.911 --> 0:23:46.191 I've been at UNI since I was nineteen, so, you know, 0:23:46.351 --> 0:23:49.791 fifteen years that UNI, and I'm only now really getting 0:23:49.831 --> 0:23:55.831 hands on experience with being an astronomer. So for me, 0:23:55.991 --> 0:23:59.591 what that looks like is I spend a lot of 0:23:59.631 --> 0:24:05.071 time looking at data and you know, I think I 0:24:05.071 --> 0:24:07.951 think it's pretty safe to say that we have some 0:24:07.991 --> 0:24:11.591 of the most beautiful data sets in the world or 0:24:11.631 --> 0:24:15.551 in the universe. And you know, we're really lucky that 0:24:15.631 --> 0:24:21.471 we we're looking at just these incredible objects. And you know, 0:24:21.591 --> 0:24:24.031 lots of different people look at lots of different things. 0:24:24.031 --> 0:24:26.831 There's a lot of different objects out there that you 0:24:26.871 --> 0:24:31.511 could be studying and researching. For me, I'm particularly interested 0:24:31.591 --> 0:24:34.591 in the Milky Way galaxy, which is our home galaxy. 0:24:34.631 --> 0:24:36.951 It's where we live, and for me, that just felt 0:24:37.071 --> 0:24:40.271 really cozy. It's like I'm not going too far away 0:24:40.271 --> 0:24:46.511 from home. And I'm particularly interested in the fuel of 0:24:46.631 --> 0:24:51.151 the galaxy, what fuels the galaxy to keep going. So, 0:24:51.231 --> 0:24:55.551 you know, galaxies can run out of fuel and then 0:24:56.111 --> 0:25:01.471 once that happens, they stop creating stars. So galaxies are 0:25:01.511 --> 0:25:07.511 like these star making mission that's their their function. And 0:25:07.591 --> 0:25:09.991 of course we know that, you know, once a star 0:25:10.191 --> 0:25:14.831 is born, planets are also born around that star, and 0:25:14.871 --> 0:25:17.351 so you know, this is where all of life is. 0:25:17.431 --> 0:25:22.431 It's within these star systems and these rocky planets that 0:25:23.151 --> 0:25:26.671 revolve around you know, stars, like our Sun. Maybe they 0:25:27.311 --> 0:25:29.991 existing in other forms, but that's the only one that 0:25:30.031 --> 0:25:33.391 we know of so far. And so yeah, I'm really 0:25:33.391 --> 0:25:36.351 interested in how do the galaxies keep going, how do 0:25:36.431 --> 0:25:40.911 they continue to make stars? You know, we know everything 0:25:40.991 --> 0:25:45.511 is finite. That's true in astronomy, just as it's true 0:25:45.551 --> 0:25:51.551 here on Earth. And so I use radio observations to 0:25:51.631 --> 0:25:55.831 do this. Radio observations it's like putting on a very 0:25:55.871 --> 0:26:01.391 special type of glasses and seeing light that we wouldn't 0:26:01.391 --> 0:26:04.071 normally be able to see with just our human eye, 0:26:04.911 --> 0:26:09.071 and so we get a really really different, but really 0:26:09.071 --> 0:26:14.511 beautiful view of the universe. And so I use radio 0:26:14.511 --> 0:26:21.231 telescopes like the one in Parks. So there's a really large, incredible, 0:26:21.711 --> 0:26:26.351 world class telescope in Parks. Could marry young And yeah, 0:26:26.431 --> 0:26:29.031 I get to take pictures of these little pockets of 0:26:29.151 --> 0:26:33.511 gas that could potentially go on to create new stars 0:26:33.551 --> 0:26:39.471 one day, and I try and understand how they move 0:26:39.551 --> 0:26:43.111