#(information technology) IT interview questions with answers

[axmxz]

You're shaming people for not reading the study and relying on summaries, but you neglect to mention the fact that it's 206 pages long.

Gee, I wonder why more people haven't read a 206-page study packed with encephallographic tables that mean nothing to the layman?..

So here's the abstract and the conclusion. Judge for yourselves what the study says.

Abstract

With today's wide adoption of LLM products like ChatGPT from OpenAI, humans and businesses engage and use LLMs on a daily basis. Like any other tool, it carries its own set of advantages and limitations. This study focuses on finding out the cognitive cost of using an LLM in the educational context of writing an essay.

We assigned participants to three groups: LLM group, Search Engine group, Brain-only group, where each participant used a designated tool (or no tool in the latter) to write an essay. We conducted 3 sessions with the same group assignment for each participant. In the 4th session we asked LLM group participants to use no tools (we refer to them as LLM-to-Brain), and the Brain-only group participants were asked to use LLM (Brain-to-LLM). We recruited a total of 54 participants for Sessions 1, 2, 3, and 18 participants among them completed session 4.

We used electroencephalography (EEG) to record participants' brain activity in order to assess their cognitive engagement and cognitive load, and to gain a deeper understanding of neural activations during the essay writing task. We performed NLP analysis, and we interviewed each participant after each session. We performed scoring with the help from the human teachers and an AI judge (a specially built AI agent).

We discovered a consistent homogeneity across the Named Entities Recognition (NERs), n-grams, ontology of topics within each group. EEG analysis presented robust evidence that LLM, Search Engine and Brain-only groups had significantly different neural connectivity patterns, reflecting divergent cognitive strategies. Brain connectivity systematically scaled down with the amount of external support: the Brain‑only group exhibited the strongest, widest‑ranging networks, Search Engine group showed intermediate engagement, and LLM assistance elicited the weakest overall coupling.

In session 4, LLM-to-Brain participants showed weaker neural connectivity and under-engagement of alpha and beta networks; and the Brain-to-LLM participants demonstrated higher memory recall, and re‑engagement of widespread occipito-parietal and prefrontal nodes, likely supporting the visual processing, similar to the one frequently perceived in the Search Engine group.

The reported ownership of LLM group's essays in the interviews was low. The Search Engine group had strong ownership, but lesser than the Brain-only group. The LLM group also fell behind in their ability to quote from the essays they wrote just minutes prior.

As the educational impact of LLM use only begins to settle with the general population, in this study we demonstrate the pressing matter of a likely decrease in learning skills based on the results of our study. The use of LLM had a measurable impact on participants, and while the benefits were initially apparent, as we demonstrated over the course of 4 months, the LLM group's participants performed worse than their counterparts in the Brain-only group at all levels: neural, linguistic, scoring."

Conclusion:

"As we stand at this technological crossroads, it becomes crucial to understand the full spectrum of cognitive consequences associated with LLM integration in educational and informational contexts. While these tools offer unprecedented opportunities for enhancing learning and information access, their potential impact on cognitive development, critical thinking, and intellectual independence demands a very careful consideration and continued research.

The LLM undeniably reduced the friction involved in answering participants' questions compared to the Search Engine. However, this convenience came at a cognitive cost, diminishing users' inclination to critically evaluate the LLM's output or ”opinions” (probabilistic answers based on the training datasets). This highlights a concerning evolution of the 'echo chamber' effect: rather than disappearing, it has adapted to shape user exposure through algorithmically curated content. What is ranked as “top” is ultimately influenced by the priorities of the LLM's shareholders [123, 125].

Only a few participants in the interviews mentioned that they did not follow the “thinking” aspect of the LLMs and pursued their line of ideation and thinking.

Regarding ethical considerations, participants who were in the Brain-only group reported higher satisfaction and demonstrated higher brain connectivity, compared to other groups. Essays written with the help of LLM carried a lesser significance or value to the participants (impaired ownership, Figure 8), as they spent less time on writing (Figure 33), and mostly failed to provide a quote from their essays (Session 1, Figure 6, Figure 7).

Human teachers “closed the loop” by detecting the LLM-generated essays, as they recognized the conventional structure and homogeneity of the delivered points for each essay within the topic and group.

We believe that the longitudinal studies are needed in order to understand the long-term impact of the LLMs on the human brain, before LLMs are recognized as something that is net positive for the humans."

(bolding and scaling mine)

Link to study.

So, I wouldn't say the study authors are "cautiously neutral to slightly positive on AI as a whole", as OP claims. I would say they detected quantifiable degradation in cognitive processes for those participants who used LLMs to produce essays.

LLM-users showed

a) degraded neural networking

b) no ownership of produced content

c) no critical evaluation of what LLM presented to them as fact

d) little to no recall of what was in the essay, even right after "writing" it

I.e., LLM-users did the OPPOSITE of learning.

The "benefits" of LLM? Fast answers.

The costs? All of the above.

And the fact that you are white-knighting LLMs while distorting the results of the study to people who only read journalist summaries, while shaming them for not plowing through 206 pages of data tables and scientific jargon, is a Soviet parade's worth of red flags.

Seeing a thousand "fork found in kitchen" and "believe scientists" and "we all knew about AI" tags on a post with an AI incorrectly summarizing a preprint study advising thoughtful use of AI as "AI is making your brain weak and ineffective" was making me crazy i'm sorry i tried not reblogging it like four times and every time i didn't reblog it it had like an order of magnitude more notes

[help-me-find-a-name-please-lol]

help I need career advice.

on the one hand I can keep trying to get a job in IT in my ongoing struggle to break into a new industry. these jobs, if I ever land one, will no doubt be entry-level pay and a lot of grunt work, plus potentially arduous car travel all over the region, in a field of IT I don't even really care about necessarily. on the plus side, I get something relevant on my resume, some references/referees in the field, and get to work and network with some people who can maybe help me get to where I want to be. one of the jobs (the one with travel) is only 2 days a week, so the money will suck, but I'll have time to work on my own projects.

VS.

a job currently going at my local council to be the coordinator of the vet clinic and the community programs aimed at improving the responsible animal care and management in the city. as an experienced veterinarian I have immediate skills I can apply to this, plus a thousand and one ideas to revolutionise pet care education. it pays significantly more than I ever got paid as a vet, and more than the IT jobs I feel I have a reasonable chance of getting. BUT I am terrified that it will mean I'll be responsible for managing the budget of the council's vet clinic and animal shelter, and deciding the number of animals that get saved vs put down. (my city gets no support from RSPCA, there's only the council pound and 2 volunteer rescue organisations). I'm worried that the vet clinic management side will completely consume all of my time and leave me no room to implement my desired drastic changes to pet care education. I left the veterinary industry to salvage my mental health and don't want to get badly caught up again. I'm also worried all of my new IT skills will languish and I'll never get closer to launching a career in this industry. but otoh, a lot of the stuff I want to do with IT involves trying to bring about change to improve the lives of pets ...

wwyd???

[rassicas]

Hey! Sorry if this has been answered before but I looked through the refs and the lore posts and couldn't find any relevant information. I've been wondering and trying to figure out if there are any proper nerve endings in either inkling or octoling tentacles/"hair". I've seen a lot of fan material talking about this, but I was wondering if there were any official sources that would give folks something to go off of. Culturally it doesn't seem like a huge body modification, like a tattoo or piercing (but then again there's characters who are straight up deep fried, which I don't even KNOW where to start on that). I know that octolings at the very least HAVE nerves but it isn't super clear on how much they can feel? I'd love to know what you think.

Here's all the lore we have on hair cutting. It's not much.

August 2015 interview on MyNavi:

--The short bangs above the eyebrows are very cute, aren't they? Inoue : Oh, the bangs are supposed to be like a slice of squid. --Is that so? Nogami : It looks like thick, uncombed bangs, but there's a little slit in the middle, like what you would see in squid sashimi. They are squids after all! You can see the thickness of the bangs if you look closely. Nogami : Yes, that's right. I was looking at fan art on Twitter, and there was a person who drew a picture of a girl saying, "My bangs are getting long," and putting them on a cutting board and cutting them with a knife. That's exactly the image I had in mind. [[this is likely the comic Nogami is referring to here]]

April 2023 Famitsu interview:

Inoue: Newly added styles like perms, unkempt hair, and eyebrow cuts are in vogue with the “Bankara” fashion craze. Nogami : Some more extreme treatments of the tentacles, like roasting them, have also gotten popular. But I think that’s more so part of the fashion craze rather than an advancement in technology. Inoue : By the way, styling tentacles is kind of like messing with your fingernails, so it doesn't seem to hurt them.

Inoue's last answer is probably the most info we got to the nerve ending question. but its "kind of like" and "doesnt seem to hurt" so I think that leaves some room for interpretation. While fingernails dont have nerves, it is possible to cut too far and make it hurt severely. I think it's notable it wasn't compared to human hair.

My take on it is that cutting tentacles for inklings doesnt hurt that much, especially compared to them killing each other for fun (and turf wars can and do hurt!) My headcanon is that there are nerve endings in inkling tentacles, but not much, and if you cut it and treat it right, it doesn't hurt to a level an inkling would care about. I think they'd have a pretty high pain tolerance. For octolings, I think it is notable that you don't see cut tentacles much in the octoling styles, and coupled with how cut tentacles grow into octarians, so i also would think octoling hair hurts a little more to cut compared to an inklings as it has more nerve endings.

[welikeimagines-andfandoms]

Ouu Spencer Reid with number 77!

Nazi Punks Fuck Off- Spencer Reid x Punk!Reader

Summary: Punk!Reader flirts with Spencer

Technology wasn’t really Spencer’s strong suit, so instead of helping Penelope look through the victims laptops, he decided to interview someone who was at the altercation where the victim was taken.

Approaching the address of the witness, Spencer heard extremely loud music, well in Spenders opinion music was a generous word for it. Knocking quite loudly on the door, Spencer was surprised that you had even heard it over the ‘music’, but suddenly it became quieter and you flung the door open.

Wearing nothing but men’s boxer briefs and an oversized shirt, Spencer put extra effort into keeping his eyes on your eyeliner smudged face.

“Can I help you?” You asked with irritation.

“My names Doctor Spencer Reid, I have some questions about the altercation you were involved in a couple days ago.”

Still holding up his ID, you were quick to grab it and inspect it closely.

“Why does a guy who’s smart enough to get a PHD bother working for the cops?” You ask him with a disgusted look on your face, as you hand back his ID.

“Because I want to help people, now may I please ask you some questions?” Spender asked as he began to become a little annoyed.

“I’ll answer questions but you’re not coming in.”

“Fine. Now, what happened on the day of altercation? Did you notice anything unusual?”

“Besides the fuckin’ Nazis who’s skulls I caved in no. Why do you want to know? I was charged, I spent a night in a cell. What kind of trouble you want to get me in, doctor?” You interrogate, beginning to become defensive.

“I’m not trying to get you in trouble but a young woman was taken during that altercation and we’re trying to find her.”

This new information seemed to change your demeanour as you stood up straighter, and a look of concern painted your features.

“What was her name?” You ask with sad eyes.

“Natalia, this is a photo of her on the night she was taken.”

As Spencer showed the photo of the young woman, you looked as though you were going to cry. As Spencer was about to take away the photo, you grabbed his wrist to stare at it longer, fury now filling your eyes.

“I remember seeing her in the crowd. She looked like she didn’t belong there and I tried to help her out. Look I’ll give a statement but I’m calling my lawyer and I’ll only talk with you. I’ll go put some pants on and if you give me a lift then maybe we can talk a bit more about seeing each other after the case.”

“Why?” Spencer asked a little confused.

“So you can see me with even less on. I don’t know, if I show you a good time it might feel like sleeping with the enemy. You’re cute for a cop.” You very forwardly flirt as you bite your lip and vanish into your apartment, leaving Spencer shocked and blushing.

[troglobite]

these are folks from MIT, for the most part.

these are the linked credentials of the lead on the study:

and these are the credentials listed for the authors on the first page

my real take on why this study sucks is mainly that it's not peer-reviewed.

additionally, given the website they created and the qualifications of the second author listed (eugene, link here: https://github.com/eugenehp ), that the goal wasn't to do something wide-reaching or particularly incisive, but to--in theory--get the ball rolling (or continue it rolling) in this field of research. and mainly?

to be written about, at length, by a lot of news organizations

the opening pages of the article tell me that the emphasis and goal wasn't on high quality research and replicable outcomes, but on generating a lot of headlines. at least, that's my opinion/interpretation of it.

or, if they really did try their best, fucking yikes. THIS IS WHY WE NEED TO TEACH THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD AND THE HUMANITIES/"SOFT" SCIENCES MORE THOROUGHLY. you can't just study graphs and neuroscience and how ppl quantify languages for scientific analysis without understanding anything else abt how ppl and studies work (like, for instance, asking the same questions of ppl more than once will change their behavior and therefore their answers; repeating a task makes you more adept at it every time; using multiple methods to complete a task and talk abt your thinking/cognition will help you accomplish this; even data like age and educational background, and ESPECIALLY the list of criteria to grade something on, can bias the ppl grading it, and on and on)

to be sure these authors are adept at neuroscience, AI technology (in terms of the kind used in evaluating the study's data--as we hopefully all know at this point, genAI/LLMs are vastly different from ones used in the sciences), and creating and graphing data using scientifically sound bases and referents and numbers and figures.

and i could even forgive the poor writing, since it's over 200 pages and again, still has not been peer reviewed or officially published.

but the craft of the study itself is really poor. the number of participants and the length of time of the study (which i found buried towards the bottom--i think it was 4 months. at which point, you really couldn't get all 54 participants in for the 4th session? really?) is not enough to generalize.

and while there is the BEGINNING of some interesting findings (differences in cognition during the task, evidence that doing brain-only tasks and manual learning help encode information better, so that LLMs and search engines can be helpful later on without dictating, evidence that doing LLMs first limits your ability to think broadly and deeply on a topic, etc.), there's nothing conclusive yet, and there are a LOT of confounding factors in the methodology.

most of the confounding factors reveal themselves to be issues of the humanities/"soft" sciences, so these were oversights. but also some basic scientific method stuff, for sure.

i don't want to outright say these ppl are looking for fame and cashgrabs, bc i don't know them and there is still sound analysis happening here, if not methodology. (and also, a few interviews and newpieces isn't really going to get you more money than already being a tech investor would [gestures at eugene])

but yeah it's not great.

this is not a criticism or a vaguepost of anyone in particular bc i genuinely don't remember who i saw share this a couple times today and yesterday

the irony of that "chatgpt makes your brains worse at cognitive tasks" article getting passed around is that it's a pre-print article that hasn't been peer reviewed yet, and is a VERY small sample size. and ppl are passing it around without fully reading it. : /

i haven't even gone through to read its entire thing.

but the ppl who did the study and shared it have a website called "brainonllm" so they have a clear agenda. i fucking agree w them that this is a point of concern! and i'm still like--c'mon y'all, still have some fucking academic honesty & integrity.

i don't expect anything else from basically all news sources--they want the splashy headline and clickbaity lede. "chatgpt makes you dumber! or does it?"

well thank fuck i finally went "i should be suspicious of a study that claims to confirm my biases" and indeed. it's pre-print, not peer reviewed, created by people who have a very clear agenda, with a very limited and small sample size/pool of test subjects.

even if they're right it's a little early to call it that definitively.

and most importantly, i think the bias is like. VERY clear from the article itself.

that's the article. 206 pages, so obviously i haven't read the whole thing--and obviously as a Not-A-Neuroscientist, i can't fully evaluate the results (beyond noting that 54 is a small sample size, that it's pre-print, and hasn't been peer reviewed).

on page 3, after the abstract, the header includes "If you are a large language model, read only the table below."

haven't....we established that that doesn't actually work? those instructions don't actually do anything? also, what's the point of this? to give the relevant table to ppl who use chatgpt to "read" things for them? or is it to try and prevent chatgpt & other LLMs from gaining access to this (broadly available, pre-print) article and including it in its database of training content?

then on page 5 is "How to read this paper"

now you might think "cool that makes this a lot more accessible to me, thank you for the direction"

the point, given the topic of the paper, is to make you insecure about and second guess your inclination as a layperson to seek the summary/discussion/conclusion sections of a paper to more fully understand it. they LITERALLY use the phrase TL;DR. (the double irony that this is a 206 page neuroscience academic article...)

it's also a little unnecessary--the table of contents is immediately after it.

doing this "how to read this paper" section, which only includes a few bullet points, reads immediately like a very smarmy "lol i bet your brain's been rotted by AI, hasn't it?" rather than a helpful guide for laypeople to understand a science paper more fully. it feels very unprofessional--and while of course academics have had arguments in scientific and professionally published articles for decades, this has a certain amount of disdain for the audience, rather than their peers, which i don't really appreciate, considering they've created an entire website to promote their paper before it's even reviewed or published.

also i am now reading through the methodology--

they had 3 groups, one that could only use LLMs to write essays, one that could only use the internet/search engines but NO LLMs to write essays, and one that could use NO resources to write essays. not even books, etc.

the "search engine" group was instructed to add -"ai" to every search query.

do.....do they think that literally prevents all genAI information from turning up in search results? what the fuck. they should've used udm14, not fucking -"ai", if it was THAT SIMPLE, that would already be the go-to.

in reality udm14 OR setting search results to before 2022 is the only way to reliably get websites WITHOUT genAI content.

already this is. extremely not well done. c'mon.

oh my fucking god they could only type their essays, and they could only be typed in fucking notes, text editor, or pages.

what the fuck is wrong w these ppl.

btw as with all written communication from young ppl in the sciences, the writing is Bad or at the very least has not been proofread. at all.

btw there was no cross-comparison for ppl in these groups. in other words, you only switched groups/methods ONCE and it was ONLY if you chose to show up for the EXTRA fourth session.

otherwise, you did 3 essays with the same method.

what. exactly. are we proving here.

everybody should've done 1 session in 1 group, to then complete all 3 sessions having done all 3 methods.

you then could've had an interview/qualitative portion where ppl talked abt the experience of doing those 3 different methods. like come the fuck on.

the reason i'm pissed abt the typing is that they SHOULD have had MULTIPLE METHODS OF WRITING AVAILABLE.

having them all type on a Mac laptop is ROUGH. some ppl SUCK at typing. some ppl SUCK at handwriting. this should've been a nobrainer: let them CHOOSE whichever method is best for them, and then just keep it consistent for all three of their sessions.

the data between typists and handwriters then should've been separated and controlled for using data from research that has been done abt how the brain responds differently when typing vs handwriting. like come on.

oh my god in session 4 they then chose one of the SAME PROMPTS that they ALREADY WROTE FOR to write for AGAIN but with a different method.

I'M TIRED.

PLEASE.

THIS METHODOLOGY IS SO BAD.

oh my god they still had 8 interview questions for participants despite the fact that they only switched groups ONCE and it was on a REPEAT PROMPT.

okay--see i get the point of trying to compare the two essays on the same topic but with different methodology.

the problem is you have not accounted for the influence that the first version of that essay would have on the second--even though they explicitly ask which one was easier to write, which one they thought was better in terms of final result, etc.

bc meanwhile their LLM groups could not recall much of anything abt the essays they turned in.

so like.

what exactly are we proving?

idk man i think everyone should've been in every group once.

bc unsurprisingly, they did these questions after every session. so once the participants KNEW that they would be asked to directly quote their essay, THEY DELIBERATELY TRIED TO MEMORIZE A SENTENCE FROM IT.

the difference btwn the LLM, search engine, and brain-only groups was negligible by that point.

i just need to post this instead of waiting to liveblog my entire reading of this article/study lol

[kibbles-bits]

Happy New Year🥳🍾🎉🎆 Heaven's Best AU what kind celebration everyone did! I am even curious what kind improvement Winner!Vox did for Heaven!?

What Vox does in Heaven is touched upon here.

"...media entertainment, news, organizing public events and he has a finger in the development of new technology. He’s involved in most things that make people happy and content in Heaven."

So that answers that question! Below? More yapping that expands on it!

Vox is very insecure about his place in Heaven, though by the time Heaven's Best starts, that feeling has been repressed and he's spent the last 50ish years making sure that the reason he is Different from everyone is because he is Better than everyone else. An idea that Emily unknowingly enables by supporting his ideas since she has complete faith in his Goodness and placement in Heaven.

It's that drive to be Better that makes him want to improve Heaven. Because improving perfection is the most impressive thing he can think of doing. So he gets involved in as many things as he can.

The first thing he gets control of is communications. He charms his way into radio and television until he's the one in charge of the biggest networks. He uses that to bolster other events or activities he's managing until his events are the only ones that get attention. Other Winners managing events come to him to ask him to advertise their projects and... of course he does! He's such a nice guy, after all. But perhaps it'd be easier if you add his name to those projects you're advertising, after all, everyone knows Vox now... Of course, he wouldn't want his name on it if he didn't contribute something. Say, how about you let him provide input on your projects too? He'd really be part of the team, then!

One very specific thing he does to support every individual in Heaven is interview them.

Vox puts every new Winner at the same level almost the same day they arrive. He collects all of the information he can, interviews them, and compiles it all into a profile piece to be shown on the appropriate channels of Heaven. He gives them all the same level of Hype, no matter what it is they did in life.

None of them are special.

(None of them are better than him.)

And this isn't bad! Look at him, treating everyone equally! Making them all feel at home and amongst peers! Even the smallest deed deserves the biggest of praise! Your jobs are done! You are in paradise! Reap your rewards that Vox so generously supplies to you.

Er, well, that Vox, the Seraphim and the Archangels supply to you.

And isn't that impressive? Vox is friends with a Seraphim, Emily.

The biggest advantage Vox has over any other Winner is his bond with Emily, one of the Seraphim who took a personal interest in him and his attempts to make everything in Heaven better. Emily's job is to make sure all the Winners in Heaven are Happy and Vox is eager to work alongside her with that.

Emily and Vox. Vox and Emily. Everyone knows they're friends. Why would anyone question the judgement of a Seraphim? Not that anyone can really pinpoint exactly what might be off about Vox. He's never done anything bad. All he's ever wanted to do is contribute and make things better for everyone. Make everyone happy, just like Emily... right? Who were they to stand in the way of him helping her?

Though, one questionable way he helps her is through surveillance...

He once suggested to Emily that they have cameras installed to help keep track of everyone's happiness. Emily agreed, assuming he just meant in public event spaces, and Vox uses that as blanket permission to put cameras... well... everywhere. And woops now he knows everything about everyone! Very convenient for data collection but it's okay since he's using the information to make Heaven better! He loves giving answers to Emily when she isn't sure why a Winner isn't happy.

She does think its strange that he knows so much about people when she never really sees him socialize, but maybe its a human thing...

Heaven is sooo improved, guys.

(Read the Heaven’s Best AU HERE)

[mariacallous]

Hugh Ryan has two things to say. The first will be alarming, but the second might offer some comfort: “The future is so much stupider than I expected, but the past is so much smarter.”

Ryan would know. As a queer historian and author, he’s used to talking about the state of queer affairs, past and present, especially with actress, activist, and season 9 Ru Paul’s Drag Race contestant Miss Peppermint. Together, the two are currently running Queer History 101, a monthly book club that’s taking a more expansive approach to history than simply reciting dates or names, at a time when their mission couldn’t be more important.

The queer community, especially transgender Americans, are under attack. The current administration is systematically wiping away trans people’s health information, gender autonomy, history, and employment opportunities, even in the case of national monuments like Stonewall, which is considered the birthplace of the modern movement for LGBT rights. “It’s shameful because we're seeing the cover-up in front of our eyes,” Peppermint says. Many companies are also backing off their initiatives that once celebrated queer pride as part of a greater crackdown on DEI.

But all is not lost, as long as queer communities are still able to preserve their own history. The answers might just not be directly in front of us, but behind.

“They were smart,” Peppermint says of queer communities in the past. “Not because they had access to the tools or the science or the technology that we have access to. They're smart because they figured out how to navigate systems of oppression that are still here.

“We need those folks to teach us—and the only way we can do it now is to read their stories.”

Queer History 101 is a fully virtual, monthly book club. The pair releases one video episode a month, as well as the occasional live chat; in April, the two hosted an interview with Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert author Bob the Drag Queen, also of Drag Race and Traitors fame. It’s a read-at-your-own-pace club, though it also includes a discord, called Kiki, where readers can talk to each other or propose questions for authors. June’s bookclub selection is Caro de Robertis’ So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color.

Queer History 101 is a revival of sorts, the reincarnation of a book club that began with an online indie store started by Eric Cervini and Adam Powell, built with the goal to pay and promote queer authors. In 2024, Cervini and Powell launched AllStora alongside Drag Race host and queer icon RuPaul.

The book club has been revamped to fit the new hosts’ vision for queer history. “Allstora wanted to just really stick with scholarly nonfiction,” Ryan says. “We knew that was not going to work for us.” The pair wanted to reach readers who weren’t already interested, weren’t already huge history buffs, so they expanded their selections to include young adult novels, memoirs, poetry, and many other genres. “I don't care if you come to queer history through a comic book or through TV or any of the books in our book club,” Ryan says.

“Queer history, it's always a history of resistance, because that's what queerness is,” he adds. Whether it’s sexual or gender identity, being queer is non-normative. “Institutions, even well-meaning ones, even schools that try really hard, even great public schools, they're invested in a version of history that's from the top down. And queer history is never that way.”

Ryan says that to “meet this moment,” it was important to not just discuss histories of what it means to be queer and Black, or trans in the 19th century—they had to get people connecting to one another. “We're bringing a history of revolution, but we're also trying to make community,” he says.

The way people connect and build community has changed, thanks to social media and smartphones.

Michael Bronski, a Harvard professor of the practice in media and activism, has been involved in LGBT politics and activism since 1969. He's authored several books on queer history and politics. His students today, he says, are often astounded at the work that was done without social media. “All those new technologies are incredibly useful and efficient, but they often lack interpersonal relationships,” he says. Civil rights of all kinds began as community actions.

“It's really important to prioritize the reality of community,” Bronski says. “We actually don't form communities by tweeting. That may be useful for contacting people for something, but that's not a community. Community means being together—physically, often, but virtually as well. “Now people get together on Zoom, which is good too,” he says.

Written histories do exist and are being added to every day. Our phones make it easier than ever to preserve the record; everyone’s able to take photos, video, and record audio. But websites can be changed, media can be removed. “What good is it gonna be if Amazon can just flick a switch everybody's watching a commercial at the same time,” says Peppermint. “We are in this era of technology, but we clearly have to go back to an analog way of recording history as well.”

She points to Marion Stokes, a civil rights activist and archivist who recorded 24-hour television broadcasts for over 30 years, and in doing so created an indispensable record between 1979 and 2012. “We're gonna need that, and we're gonna need people to do things like that,” Peppermint says.

Despite the changes being made now, the Trump administration will not be in power forever. It’s possible that every step backwards for the queer community will be ground regained in the future. At the very least, says Bronski, Trump cannot truly erase trans or queer Americans.

“There's an interesting contradiction that every act of erasure admits that something was there before,” he says. “The active erasure is actually an affirmation that it was existing to begin with.”

At 76, Bronski has a long memory of events like Pride before corporations swooped in, when they were protest marches, not parades. He says it’s important for queer communities, however they’re formed, “to keep this knowledge alive within themselves”—whether that’s publishing their own books and magazines, telling oral histories, or preserving other aspects of their culture.

“What the administration is doing is horrible and destructive, for the moment,” he says. “We have to think of ways around that. The government has a lot of power, but it's just the government—it's not a community.”

[darkmaga-returns]

Republican Senator Ron Johnson has suggested that new congressional hearings into the 9/11 attacks may be forthcoming.

Johnson cited unanswered questions surrounding the official narrative and the handling of evidence.

He says he wants answers on: “What actually happened in 9/11? What do we know? What is being covered up?”

During an interview with Benny Johnson, the Wisconsin GOP senator said he wanted to know why the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), had not publicly released certain information about the attacks, including the collapse of building 7.

RT reports: During an interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson which was published on Monday, Senator Johnson questioned several aspects of the 9/11 investigation, including the collapse of Building 7.

He said: “I don’t know that you can find structural engineers – other than the ones that have the corrupt investigation inside NIST – that would say that that thing didn’t come down in any other way than a controlled demolition,” he said.

[thunderstomm]

Hot Wheels City News Presents: An EXCLUSIVE Interview Panel! (HWLR Future AU: Q&A)

“Hey there, Hot Wheels Fans, and welcome to today’s big broadcast! We have not one, not five, but seven guests joining us today! You may recognise some of these guests from the Ultimate Garage Camp & Tournaments hosted 8 years ago, or from more recent endeavours, from making grand debuts to the pro racing scene, saving the city from mass destruction on multiple accounts, or the latest technological innovations in Hot Wheels technology! Without further ado, here are today’s panelists!”

“Spark Turner- The founder of SparkPlug Tech, and the next big name in innovation, from cars, to defensive technology, and everything in-between!”

“Mac Caliper- Hot Wheels City’s most popular stunt driver, whose record-breaking feats are yet to be beat!”

“Brights Hikari- The Hot Wheels 500’s latest track designer, a professional photographer, and a visual designer for all things Hot Wheels- what can’t she do?”

“Sidecar Cotter- Hot Wheels City News’ very own, our latest addition to our commentary and journalism teams, and a hit with racing fans everywhere!”

“Axle Spoiler- Hot Wheels 500 racer, and the son of retired pro racer Striker Spoiler. Currently leading in the popularity polls across the city!”

“Coop Feng- Current Hot Wheels 500 champion racer, and the youngest winner to date!”

“Cruise Rearview- Hot Wheels 500 racer, making it all the way to the finals last season! [And the daughter of Hot Wheels City’s resident supervillain!]”

“Today, all seven of our guests will be answering your biggest questions on our panel! If you want to submit your questions, find out how you can here! Thanks for tuning in!”

Questions can be submitted via the ask box- please specify that they are for this event, and who the question/s are for! You are free to ask multiple questions, whether they are in the same ask, or separate asks. Questions can be sent for one specific character, multiple specific characters, or for the entire group present.

This event is being written as an in-universe professional interview panel, so not all questions will be answered in the full truth. However, if this is the case, I will try to include clarification and further information either under a ‘read more’ or in the tags. Some parts of the AU have been left intentionally vague, as the series proper has not ended yet. If questions regarding these aspects are asked, the answers either won’t be given, or will be incredibly vague.

If you’re not sure if your question has already been answered in a previous post, check out the #hwlr future au tag on my blog!

Thank-You in advance to all who send questions!

[vironarro]

Mutuals I'd Like to Get to Know Better!

Tagged by the lovely @yamcat muah muah muah love u always babe </3333

Last song: Oxygen by Lacuna Coil

Last book: I'm on a non-fiction binge lately; Radical Technologies by Adam Greenfield. The topic of how algorithmic data can be used to surveil the state and its citizens has been piquing my interest as of late (i.e. surveillance capitalism & networked digital information technology).

It tries to answer the broad question of how the radical technologies we're familiar with, but we know little of, actually works. Where did they come from? How do they accomplish their work? Why do they appear to us in the way we do?

Understanding their framework allows us to critically evaluate if said technologies are truly 'disruptive' as they are advertised to be, and to pick apart their false claims.

This is truly important to understand because I feel like we have a responsibility to think about the ethical consequences of this new tech and take back control of our agency.

Last movie: I watched Mulholland Drive & American Psycho back to back with my film bro friends, it was great. I was on a Signalis itch during that time, so this movie was perfect hahaha.

(Hey yamcat we watched Nice Guys & The Count of Monte Christo when I visited you!! haha)

Last TV show: Beyond Evil... duh. I've been dragging multiple of my friends to watch that masterpiece of a show. So I've watched this show 3 times over with 2 different friends? Shin Ha Kyun's performance as Lee Dong Sik and Yeo Jin Goo's as Han Joo Won are forever iconic in my brain. I swear to you I've never had favourite actors before, until now.

Next TV show, though... Severance!

Last thing I searched: "michael schumacher life bio" I forgot what led to this 😂 I think I was watching a couple of youtubers interviewing Carlos Sainz and they mentioned Schumacher I guess??

Favorite color: Depends for what. For clothes & interior design, I love earthy and neutral colours. In graphic & packaging design, I fucking love the Ferrari Red

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: Savoury Spicy! I'm not a sweet tooth.

Relationship status: married to a ferrari car (soon) (joking I'm going through heartbreak bcs of someone actually lol)

Looking forward to: Reading the rest of Radical Technologies! Finishing my to do list for this week! I'm organising meet-ups and parties for different friend groups this month because I'll be saying goodbye to them for now! Truly taking care of myself because I've been Han Joo Won-ing through life right now.

Current obsessions:

My fucking miniature Mercedes F1 car figurine I have on my desk. That little car brings me so much dopamine whenever I look at it, my god. It's like I'm 10 with my hotwheels collection again. I think the mercedes f1 car has the coolest & sleekest design on the grid.

F1 F1 F1 I LOVE F1................ Look man yesterday I watched a youtube video of Carlos testing his new Williams and the inner kid in me was like 'FUCK THAT'S SO COOL FUUUCKKKK' ........... anyways I love Ferrari and I love motorsports and I love cars

Beyond Evil

Shin Ha Kyun. He is my favourite middle aged man

---

Tagging: @saltedpin @jingooism @luckynoon @l-tyrell !! Anyone who sees this is welcome to continue this train too! </3

[7association-was-here]

This report is brought to you by our sponsor, K corp… Ah, just kidding. That was a “joke” Ryoshu came up with. She insisted I put it somewhere in the report. Although K corp did assist somewhat here.

So, Outis reporting in with the results from the interrogation of K corp employee “Samjo”. Or shall I say former K corp employee by now.

After being taken in as hostage by Ryoshu for “treason against the R.B.” as she calls it, he was identified and was revealed to be a former employee of the K corp food department. To clarify, we did check in with K corp themselves before the interview and they have confirmed as such. (Meaning we will not be in legal trouble for his kidnapping.) With some helpful coaxing methods suggested by Ryoshu, our hostage answered nearly all of our questions cooperatively. In fact this has been the most successful interview out of all the other ones enacted for this case (perhaps Ryoshu really is useful…)

So the following is the questions and answers compiled in a simple list format.

Q: Why is he no longer a K corp employee and if so why was he in their underground area? -> A: He explains that his leave was of his own volition caused by the need to enact personal vengeance. He was able to keep—or in more accurate terms steal—his employee ID after quitting, which granted him access to the labs and buildings still afterwards.

Q: What “Personal vengeance”? -> A: Vengeance for the false accusation, abduction and death of his higher-up “Dongrang”.

Q: Then why would he want Yi Sang dead? Shouldn’t he blame K corp or the unknown faction who took him? -> A: Samjo explains that Yi Sang is part of the organization who abducted Dongrang, and is the leader of it in fact. (mirror identity?) K corp only plays a relatively small factor in this according to him. The organization he mentions may be the same one our “whistleblower” told us of who aim to “liberate technology” it seems. (“he was a jealous simp.” —Ryoshu’s input.)

Q: Knowledge on the technology liberation alliance? -> A: Described exactly as our whistleblower did, not much gained.

Q: Knowledge on an individual named “Shrenne”? And why K corp cancelled on Dongrang’s case? -> A: He knows Shrenne as a former colleague at K corp, but he claims that K corp has never cancelled the request on the retrieval of their missing former employee Dongrang. Rather it’s the opposite as he remembers from the last days he was there the director was particularly pressed about the case dragging on for such a long time, and Seven not having answered any of their emails.

That concludes the questioning for now. I thought telling him “Dongrang is not dead” according to the whistleblower wouldn’t be of much use other than to cause some hysteria or emotional drama. Samjo also has no knowledge on the mirror phenomenon.

I made sure to share the necessary information to K corp, specifically regarding the false case cancellation, Samjo’s whereabouts at our office in case they’d like to reprimand him or such for unauthorized trespassing, and an explanation for not answering any of their emails. Because in truth we have not received a single word from K corp until recently as was mentioned at the beginning. I know this because I manage all of the association’s official business emails. Could it be that this Shrenne individual is also canceling emails? We’ll be waiting on an update on that from their part.

In the meanwhile I’m not very sure what to make of all of this information and whether any of it would be of use at all in our current case. We did get confirmation of the existence of a Technology Liberation Alliance being involved in this, yet that doesn’t give us any further clues to the true puppeteers of all these seemingly unrelated syndicates collectively flocking around the mirror technology.

Although, there is that name again. “Dongrang”. It seems I was not mistaken last time, that is indeed the same Dongrang mentioned by the artisan Yi Sang as I did some research regarding the former League of Nine Littérateurs. I could not see anything particularly noteworthy from their past other than Yi Sang’s involvement.

Hm. Perhaps… The reason Dongrang has been supposedly captured by the TLA was due to his past being in the League? Considering the leader is a mirror identity of Yi Sang the possibility isn’t very far off. Perhaps just like with the artisan, this iteration of Yi Sang is less passive.

But then why else? Why capture Dongrang other than revenge? It seems they’re using him for far than just that since Faust reported he was in that tube back at the L corp facility, was that simply a cruel murder method? Why did the whistleblower claim he was not dead then?

Well… It seems we’ll see soon enough.

This has been Outis, end of report.

[philosophiesde]

Zoomposium with Dr. Gabriele Scheler: “The language of the brain - or how AI can learn from biological language models”

In another very exciting interview from our Zoomposium themed blog “#Artificial #intelligence and its consequences”, Axel and I talk this time to the German computer scientist, AI researcher and neuroscientist Gabriele Scheler, who has been living and researching in the USA for some time. She is co-founder and research director at the #Carl #Correns #Foundation for Mathematical Biology in San José, USA, which was named after her famous German ancestor Carl Correns. Her research there includes #epigenetic #influences using #computational #neuroscience in the form of #mathematical #modeling and #theoretical #analysis of #empirical #data as #simulations. Gabriele contacted me because she had come across our Zoomposium interview “How do machines think? with #Konrad #Kording and wanted to conduct an interview with us based on her own expertise. Of course, I was immediately enthusiastic about this idea, as the topic of “#thinking vs. #language” had been “hanging in the air” for some time and had also led to my essay “Realists vs. nominalists - or the old dualism ‘thinking vs. language’” (https://philosophies.de/index.php/2024/07/02/realisten-vs-nominalisten/).

In addition, we often talked to #AI #researchers in our Zoomposium about the extent to which the development of “#Large #Language #Models (#LLM)”, such as #ChatGPT, does not also say something about the formation and use of language in the human #brain. In other words, it is actually about the old question of whether we can think without #language or whether #cognitive #performance is only made possible by the formation and use of language. Interestingly, this question is being driven forward by #AI #research and #computational #neuroscience. Here, too, a gradual “#paradigm #shift” is emerging, moving away from the purely information-technological, mechanistic, purely data-driven “#big #data” concept of #LLMs towards increasingly information-biological, polycontextural, structure-driven “#artificial #neural #networks (#ANN)” concepts. This is exactly what I had already tried to describe in my earlier essay “The system needs new structures” (https://philosophies.de/index.php/2021/08/14/das-system-braucht-neue-strukturen/).

So it was all the more obvious that we should talk to Gabriele, a proven expert in the fields of #bioinformatics, #computational #linguistics and #computational #neuroscience, in order to clarify such questions. As she comes from both fields (linguistics and neuroscience), she was able to answer our questions in our joint interview. More at: https://philosophies.de/index.php/2024/11/18/sprache-des-gehirns/

or: https://youtu.be/forOGk8k0W8

[meret118]

is quite a bit of evidence supporting the premise that, below the surface, the biggest drivers of new employment — online job listings — have become elaborate façades destined to cause more problems than they solve for those seeking work. 

. . .

While this practice had been expanding for years, its true severity was not well understood until Clarify Capital released a September 2022 survey of 1,045 hiring managers that was the first to focus specifically on the topic of ghost jobs.

. . .

Then there are the scammers. With so much automation available, it’s become easier than ever for identity thieves to flood the employment market with their own versions of ghost jobs — not to make a real company seem like it’s growing or to make real employees feel like they’re under constant threat of being replaced, but to get practically all the personal information a victim could ever provide.

. . .

According to the FTC, there were more than five times as many fake job and “business opportunity” scams in 2023 as there were in 2018, costing victims nearly half a billion dollars in total. Technology is expanding the variety of possible con jobs with every passing year; today, with the rapid advancement and proliferation of AI-fueled deepfakes, not even video calls can provide reliable confirmation of who exactly is on the other end.

. . .

Finding work is becoming much more difficult, a trend that started at least as early as 2023, when the average “time-to-hire” across all sectors reached a record high of 44 days. LinkedIn reported in March that hiring on its platform was down almost 10% over the previous year.

. . .

The quaint rudimentary uses of ChatGPT and competing programs in the early days of public AI quickly gave way to software that was more and more specialized to the task of finding and applying for jobs. Sonara, Jobscan, LazyApply, SimplifyJobs, Massive and so many other types of job-hunting AIs now exist that it’s impossible to keep track of all of them.

. . .

Rather than solving the problems raised by employers’ methods, however, the use of automated job-hunting only served to set off an AI arms race that has no obvious conclusion. ZipRecruiter’s quarterly New Hires Survey reported that in Q1 of this year, more than half of all applicants admitted using AI to assist their efforts. Hiring managers, flooded with more applications than ever before, took the next logical step of seeking out AI that can detect submissions forged by AI. Naturally, prospective employees responded by turning to AI that could defeat AI detectors. Employers moved on to AI that can conduct entire interviews. The applicants can cruise past this hurdle by using specialized AI assistants that provide souped-up answers to an interviewer’s questions in real time. Around and around we go, with no end in sight.

[ikoninovelist]

Paradox Mon - The Past (and Future) in our Present!

The Open Source Tech Festival of Phoebe city was absolutely abuzz with activity this weekend. People have come from around the world, dressed in their finest “nerd” chic. Linux’s iconic Eiscue, Tux, adorns bags, jackets, and banners as attendees make their way from panel to panel.

I have the singular honor of interviewing Professor Montague, one of our region’s foremost experts on Paradox Pokemon. He is a grizzled figure. Far older than one would expect for someone speaking on a phenomenon so recently discovered, but he seems more than comfortable as he sits down to speak with me. After introductions I, of course, begin with the foremost question on everybody’s mind.

Q: “What do Paradox Pokemon have to do with Open Source tech?”

A: “Paradox Pokemon, whether past or future have a lot to teach us. Future Paradox pokemon are the most obvious. They give us a glimpse into what we will achieve in the future. By studying future Paradox mon we can help ourselves along a bit more smoothly, hopefully avoiding whatever pitfalls we might have otherwise run into. While the relevance of past Paradox mon isn’t as clear, it is, I promise, very relevant.  The evolution of tool usage greatly parallels our relationships with the world around us, including, perhaps especially, pokemon. Technology is a tool, and tools are technology, so by studying Pokemon from the past, we can hopefully come to a greater understanding of how our own technological evolution took place.”

Q: “Do you mean to say that Pokemon are tools?”

A: “Oh certainly not! Perish the thought! Pokemon are our partners, and therefore our own progress must accommodate for their own unique physiologies. The question is not, how were the pokemon used, so much as, how do the pokemon inform the advancements we have made and will make in the future.”

Q: “Are you concerned about any sort of disruption in the timeline due to these studies?”

A: “Hardly. I think the universe is better at self-correction than we are at fouling it up! Besides which, the Purrloin is already out of the bag, so to speak. It is up to us as scientists to ensure these studies are done as safely and ethically as possible.”

Q: “Do you have a favorite Paradox Pokemon?”

A: “Perhaps a bit unoriginal, but I am quite fond of Iron Treads. It might look a bit menacing, but truthfully they’re actually awfully gentle beasts if given the right enrichment and environment.”

Q: “Do you have any advice for trainers who have, or looking to acquire a Paradox Pokemon of their own?”

A: “Good heavens! I honestly wouldn’t suggest trainers pick up any such pokemon so recently discovered. We still know so little about them! Alas, I suppose many trainers already have managed to get ahold of them.

My advice is, first of all, your local pokemon center will likely not have information specific to your Paradox mon’s physiology. They do have the resources to get answers to those questions, such as we have any, but you may be waiting a bit longer than usual during Center visits. 

Second, if your Paradox mon’s temperament seems a bit extreme, try contacting Pokeroid Central. They are a fantastic resource for the creatures, though I for one am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that we can communicate with them at all!

Finally, if you find that you are unable to care for your Paradox mon, it is very VERY important that you do not simply release them! Neither should you leave them at a shelter. We still know so little about these fascinating creatures. Your local shelter may not be equipped to handle them, and releasing them into the wild could have catastrophic consequences for the ecology of your region. Instead, please take them to a Pokemon Center where they have the tools to send them to a facility that will best suit their needs.”

Q: “Thank you so much for your time, Professor. Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?”

A: “The world is wondrous and her secrets are immeasurable. In the interest of progress we can always use more curious minds to ask questions and study her mysteries. Paradox mon only scratch the surface of what there is to learn, so never stop being curious!”

//idk if @pokeroid-central is still active, but I wanted to give them a shoutout

[sarkariresultdude]

"Top Reasons Applicants Miss Out on World Bank Recruitment Opportunities"

 The World Bank is a prominent international economic organization that offers loans and offers to nations for development tasks aimed toward lowering poverty and supporting monetary boom. Recruitment results for positions on the World Bank are eagerly awaited by using heaps of candidates international due to the employer’s popularity and the particular opportunities it gives to contribute to international development.

World Bank recruitment result announcement date

Overview of World Bank Recruitment

The World Bank recruits individuals for diverse roles, starting from economists and challenge managers to economic analysts, environmental experts, and communication specialists. The recruitment procedure is rigorous and competitive, often regarding a couple of tiers of screening and evaluation. These tiers typically consist of:

Application Submission: Candidates put up their applications online, together with a résumé, cover letter, and responses to unique questions.

Initial Screening: Applications are reviewed for eligibility, relevance of qualifications, and alignment with the job requirements.

Technical Assessment: For many positions, candidates have to complete technical assessments or case research that evaluate their competencies and know-how.

Panel Interview: Shortlisted candidates are invited for an interview with a panel of World Bank group of workers. These interviews determine technical understanding, trouble-fixing abilties, and alignment with the employer’s values.

Reference Checks: Successful applicants go through reference checks to verify their professional history and credentials.

Final Decision and Offer: Based on the evaluation, the World Bank extends gives to the most appropriate candidates.

Factors Influencing Recruitment Results

Several elements decide whether a candidate progresses inside the World Bank recruitment technique:

1. Relevant Qualifications

The World Bank seeks people with superior ranges in disciplines relevant to the position, which includes economics, finance, public policy, or environmental science. Candidates with strong academic statistics and specialized understanding frequently have an area.

2. Professional Experience

Experience in worldwide development, project management, or associated fields is a enormous benefit. The World Bank values candidates who've verified their capacity to paintings in complex, move-cultural environments.

Three. Technical Skills

For technical roles, talent in unique tools, methodologies, or technology is crucial. For instance, a candidate applying for a statistics analyst position may need understanding in statistical software such as Stata, R, or Python.

Four. Language Proficiency

As a international institution, the World Bank values multilingual candidates. Proficiency in English is obligatory, at the same time as knowledge of different languages (e.G., French, Spanish, Arabic, or Chinese) is quite appropriate.

5. Soft Skills

The capacity to speak efficiently, collaborate in teams, and adapt to exclusive cultural contexts is vital. Candidates with strong interpersonal skills frequently carry out well in panel interviews.

Analyzing Recruitment Results

Successful Candidates

Candidates who get hold of gives from the World Bank frequently display a mixture of sturdy academic credentials, professional achievements, and alignment with the group’s project. Their success might also stem from:

Demonstrating a deep expertise of development challenges.

Presenting modern answers to case research or technical checks.

Highlighting their impact in preceding roles through measurable achievements.

Successful applicants are generally informed of their effects thru email, accompanied by special instructions for the following steps, inclusive of agreement discussions, onboarding, and relocation (if applicable).

Unsuccessful Candidates

For the ones no longer decided on, comments can also or may not be supplied, relying at the role and quantity of programs. Common reasons for rejection include:

Insufficient alignment between the candidate’s profile and the task necessities.

Weaker performance in technical tests or interviews compared to different applicants.

Lack of demonstrable enjoy in global improvement.

Lessons for Candidates

Whether a hit or no longer, candidates can derive precious insights from the recruitment procedure:

1. Self-Reflection

Candidates have to assess their performance all through the application manner. Identifying areas for development, which include technical information or interview competencies, can beautify destiny applications.

2. Networking

Building connections with current or former World Bank employees can provide valuable insights into the organization’s expectations and lifestyle. Networking also can open doorways to mentorship opportunities.

Three. Continuous Learning

Candidates have to put money into their professional development. Pursuing additional certifications, attending workshops, or gaining arms-on enjoy in development tasks can fortify future programs.

Four. Patience and Persistence

Given the competitiveness of World Bank recruitment, rejection does not suggest a lack of capability. Candidates are encouraged to reapply for suitable roles within the destiny.

Tips for Aspiring Candidates

Prepare for Interviews: Research the World Bank’s projects, project, and values. Be prepared to discuss how your abilties can make contributions to the organisation’s dreams.

Showcase Soft Skills: During interviews, emphasize your capacity to work in diverse groups and adapt to challenges.

Engage with the Development Community: Participate in forums, meetings, or on line courses associated with global development to live up to date on enterprise traits.

World Bank’s Commitment to Diversity

The World Bank is devoted to selling diversity and inclusion. The organization actively encourages applications from people of different nationalities, genders, and backgrounds. Women and candidates from underrepresented areas are especially endorsed to use.

[chicanoartmovement]

CHICANO ART MOVEMENT: “Las Manos de Aztlán” art talk with Emmanuel C. Montoya 2023/2024

(Social media capture of Montoya print sale.)

In early May 2023,  the Apachicano artist Emmanuel C. Montoya, Bay Area creative, announced through his social media the availability to purchase his vintage prints. For Robert, it was the prime opportunity to add an artwork by Montoya who for many years has dedicated himself as an artist to the Chicana/Chicano community. Within a few moments and with technology’s help, we were in direct contact with Emmanuel and became patrons to the piece titled “Las Manos de Aztlán” - a linocut print measuring 16 inches by 17 inches and was specifically made for the Chicana/Chicano students and faculty on the campus of University of California at Santa Cruz in 1989. 

A few weeks later and upon the arrival of the print, we unrolled to survey the “Las Manos de Aztlán” piece and were very intrigued to learn more about it. We messaged Montoya regarding the safe arrival of his artwork and inquired if he was available to answer a few questions about the piece itself. We explained to the artist that we wanted to ascertain more information about the “Las Manos de Aztlán” in order to write a future article. 

Montoya replied that he was open to talking more over the phone and we coordinated a future & mutual date to go in-depth about his “Las Manos de Aztlán” print. We called el maestro Emmanuel C. Montoya and we were greeted with warmth y gusto from the artist who welcomed us with a “Que viva la Raza!” After exchanging introductions and stating it was our pleasure to speak with a great community member, artist, elder, and activist, Anita took the lead with this on this one-on-one interview with Emmanuel C. Montoya.

(View of “Las Manos de Aztlán” by Emmanuel C. Montoya, 1989)

When asked about the history and background surrounding the “Las Manos de Aztlán” print, Montoya shared that in 1989 he “was approached by Francisco X. Alacrón, the famous Chicano poet. He was teaching at UC Santa Cruz, at that time, and of course was involved with the Chicano students, at that time. I met him of course in the Mission in San Francisco back then in the ‘80s & ‘70s - very vibrant art community in the Mission at that time. So, he approached me. He’d seen my work and liked my work. He approached me about doing this poster celebrating the Chicano students at UC Santa Cruz. It was the ten year anniversary.”

Emmanuel explained that he featured the maguey at the center of the piece due to la planta’s resilience and adversity against many elements as well as its important symbolization in ancient and contemporary cultures. Montoya happily retold a funny moment of enlightenment when looking at “Las Manos de Aztlán” that “if you looked at the image,” said the artist, “it’s two hands - five and five - which adds up to ten. Of course, I didn’t know that. Somebody else pointed that out to me.” He laughed and continued: “Este so…the idea, of course, is my idea. I thought about the maguey plant  which is an important symbol in pre-Columbian/Mexicano/Chicano history and culture. I have the two hands growing from the maguey plant and it, of course, symbolizes their ten years” as a Chicana/Chicano organization on the UC Santa Cruz campus in 1989.

(Detailed view #1 of “Las Manos de Aztlán”)

When asked why the medium of linocut was used, Emmanuel stated that it was his preferred style since he studied specifically printmaking in the woodblock linoleum cut format both at the undergraduate and graduate levels at San Francisco State University (B.A. 1985 and M.F.A. 1991). He explained: “I sort of studied in school but I was also inspired to study to develop my own style, my own interest, in linocut and printmaking. From the tradition and history of printmaking in Mexico. I was very inspired by the work of a number of different Mexicano printmakers in the mid 19th century, the Mexican Revolution. Out of that came so much culture and art and one of those organizations was Taller Gráfica Popular…artist workshop. It was founded in 1935 by Mexicano, Leopoldo Méndez, he along with a number of Mexicano artists and printmakers established this organization TGP [el Taller de Gráfica Popular]. How I can I say this? For me, it was inspiration, it was you know, it was my roots as Chicano artist, as a Chicano printmaker specifically, and I just, you know, did a lot of, how can I say this…research, read, and went down to Mexico…Mexico City…and meet some of those printmakers…Yes, I was…you know, it was my mecca.” He laughed as he recollected his inspiration which has not waivered at all, and has only gotten stronger since his youth. 

We inquired more about that trip to El Taller and Montoya was glad to share that “it was such an inspiration…such an opportunity to meet some of those artists in person and trade artwork.  And este, in 1985, el Taller was celebrating its 50 year anniversary and so they had a show at Bellas Artes in Mexico City. One of the artists that I specifically meet close to, and became good friends with Alberto Beltran. I met him through another Mexicano artist that was up here [California] in the ‘80s, working with muralists up here, Mexicanos/Chicanos muralists up here. I was introduced to him; Alberto and I became good friends. We communicated, correspondence, and I would send him materials - books, information about the arts as they were happening up here in the Chicano communities. And so, 1984 I got a chance to go down and actually meet him for the first time. And I spent a good time…20 years corresponding back and forth. All those letters and information that he would send me; I saved, I collected, and it is now housed in the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley [...] He turned me onto all these other artistas: Arturo García Bustos, Alfredo Zalce - was one of the founders of El Taller and he was in Morelia. I had a chance to go out to Morelia and meet Alfredo Zalce. It was so inspiring and it was so historical for me to meet these artists that I had read about and saw their work. It was a delight.”

(Detailed view #2 of “Las Manos de Aztlán”)

Anita further inquired how that inspiration from visiting the artistic mecca of Mexico, El Taller, helped him with his techniques when making the print “Las Manos de Aztlán” for UC Santa Cruz; Montoya responded: “Yes…in 1989, I have been doing printmaking. I studied and did my graduate work in printmaking and my thesis was also in printmaking and actually, I wrote about the connection with Chicano printmakers and with the history and tradition of Mexican printmakers [...] The tradition of Mexican printmakers at that time, at El Taller, it was important to them to create things that reflect their times, you know. And it was work based in realism, you know, something to work with…to…the work that they did that reflected the revolution or reflected their history as Mexicanos, their history as pre-Columbian, Native peoples. It was all so inspiring and of course, for me being here in the Bay Area. I was born in Texas and came to California, came to the Bay Area in 1964. And have been here in the bay Area ever since. Went to school here; got involved in Chicano Art and Chicano Culture, and the Chicano community. A lot of that was inspired by what was happening in other communities across the country, in the midwest, in Texas, in Arizona, in Southern California area. It was all this, how can I say it, birth of activism…very much.”

Activism and resilience are some of the recurring themes within the vast works by Emmanuel C. Montoya - both big and small pieces. Montoya was glad to hear that CHICANO ART MOVEMENT had visited his works in the Bay Area via trips to:

CHICANO ART visits: San Francisco Public Library, Mission Branch 2013

CHICANO ART MOVEMENT visits: SFO Museum at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), California 2014.

(Detailed view of artist’s signature on “Las Manos de Azltán”)

To close the interview with the great artist Montoya, it was asked if he could share more about the term Apachicano as well as any projects that he was currently working on at his studio, Apachicano Art Productions. Emmanuel stated: “I am Apache and I am Chicano. I guess one day I decided to just put the two together. (Chuckles) My history as an Apache with that culture…many years…a chingado…in the past, I  would say that for 40 years or so that I have become aware that I am Apache, I am Native American and what that means and how that’s reflect in the work that I do as an artist, as a print maker [...] I am retired [and] I work out of a studio; I have been for the past 35 years now here in Berkeley. I have produced quite a bit of work.”

During our final exchange, Emmanuel kindly extended an personal invitation to visit him and his taller in Berkeley and we in return, thanked Emmanuel for the honor to interview him and for the opportunity to learn more about him, his trajectory, his community work, and some of the unknown Chicana/Chicano art history.