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The headline “Southland scientist takes on challenge of tying science to te ao Maori” caught my attention so despite my good intentions, I read on …
Scientist Dr Theresa Pankhurst has been awarded the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research’s inaugural Te Urungi Fellowship, established by its Maori advisory group.
Her allotted assignment is to:
merge her biomedical research career with te ao Maori and look for ways to address Maori health inequities.
Stuff
The doctor goes on to say that up until now her science has been pretty mathematical whereas te ao is about people and ancestry.
“It’s all about thinking [about] where I come from, my tipuna, my ancestors; so having something that’s very empirical and mathematical and bringing your whanau, your ancestry and your past into it – that for Maori is always a spiritual thing and things that are spiritual are often emotional.”
Stuff
Emotion, meet maths.
To solve this conundrum of te ao spirituality aligning with empirical mathematics, the poor doctor has to spend two years at the University of Cambridge. Oh, the hardship.
But, hey, Cambridge University is the font of all knowledge on matters te ao, so what’s not to like?
Read more here. Discuss it on The BFD.
