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Marc Fennell

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Featured
Marc's Favourite Interviews & Stories of 2018
Marc's Favourite Interviews & Stories of 2018
Jamie Lee Curtis: Reflections on a life nearly lost to addiction
Jamie Lee Curtis: Reflections on a life nearly lost to addiction
Tom Morello: On the front lines with Rage Against the Machine
Tom Morello: On the front lines with Rage Against the Machine
Sex in Japan: Dying for Company
Sex in Japan: Dying for Company
Ruel: 'Songwriting is exaggerating'
Ruel: 'Songwriting is exaggerating'
Troye Sivan: Blowing some straight people's world
Troye Sivan: Blowing some straight people's world
Why Yassmin Abdel-Magied left Australia
Why Yassmin Abdel-Magied left Australia
Making the Monster: Frankenstein turns 200
Making the Monster: Frankenstein turns 200
From Al-qaeda terrorist to MI6 spy: Aimen Dean
From Al-qaeda terrorist to MI6 spy: Aimen Dean
Years & Years: Olly Alexander on fame & sleep paralysis
Years & Years: Olly Alexander on fame & sleep paralysis
Camp Cope on sexual assault and gender equality in music
Camp Cope on sexual assault and gender equality in music
Amy Shark opens up friends, family, failure and fame
Amy Shark opens up friends, family, failure and fame
Queer Eye's Karamo Brown: Surprise fatherhood; toxic masculinity
Queer Eye's Karamo Brown: Surprise fatherhood; toxic masculinity
Torture Therapy
Torture Therapy
Snow Patrol: Back from the brink
Snow Patrol: Back from the brink
Diplo: Working with kids; Indigenous Hip-hop; Justin Bieber
Diplo: Working with kids; Indigenous Hip-hop; Justin Bieber
Keith Urban: Fire; family; Stephen Colbert
Keith Urban: Fire; family; Stephen Colbert
Leon Bridges: Soul; style and civil rights
Leon Bridges: Soul; style and civil rights
Ghostwriter Michael Visontay: Bringing stories to the surface
Ghostwriter Michael Visontay: Bringing stories to the surface
The Matildas' Kyah Simon: Learning through injury
The Matildas' Kyah Simon: Learning through injury

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Expect stuff soon:) 

Indigenous Astronomer: Karlie Noon

May 30, 2017 in Film, Interviews, SBS, The Feed

Karlie Noon was the first Indigenous woman in NSW to graduate with a double degree in mathematics and physics… but Indigenous Australians have been practicing science long before universities were teaching it.

Despite evidence in the form of rock art depicting Indigenous knowledge about astronomy, Karlie says that she gets pushback for claiming Indigenous Australian astronomers made discoveries attributed to Galileo, Newton and Kepler. 

“I'm young and I'm saying, ‘No, that's not true, Indigenous people knew about it before them.’ I guess it can be a little bit jarring to people.

“There's this perception Indigenous discoveries can’t add anything to western science, so why would we bother looking at it?” she says.

Karlie’s experience teaching students from low socio-economic and Indigenous backgrounds has led her to CSIRO’s Indigenous STEM Education project where she works as a research assistant.

When she left home and set out for a career in science, it dawned on Karlie that her background was worlds apart from those studying and working alongside her.

Like the students she has mentored along her way, Karlie grew up in a poor family; she left school in year eight, studied at TAFE then went on to university.

While many people in Karlie’s life are proud of her achievements, “there's the other side where people feel a bit weird when you're in the limelight.”

Karlie puts this down to a sort of internalised shame stemming from generations of Indigenous people needing to be fearful of the public eye.

Despite everything, Karlie continues to push ahead… and she hopes other young Indigenous people will follow her, or be inspired to forge their own path. 

#TheFeedSBS airs 7.30pm weeknights on SBS VICELAND. 

Tags: science, astronomy, indigenous
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