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Larisa Grollemond is conducting a comparative study of illuminations in the Mirror of History (Speculum historiale, Miroir historial) as a graduate intern in the Manuscripts Department of the Getty Museum. The massive text, compiled in the 1200s by friar Vincent of Beauvais and translated into French in the 14th century by Jean de Vignay, attempts to compile all of world history from creation to the present into a single source. "If our twenty-first-century way of understanding everything is to put it on the Internet," she says, "the medieval way of understanding was to create big encyclopedic texts that try to encompass all of human history and biblical history in an organized way." Larisa, who recently completed her PhD at the University of Pennsylvania with a focus on 15th-century French manuscript culture, is focusing on the Getty volumes' unique program of illuminations. The French translation of the Miroir historial exists in some 40 known copies, and while the text remains mostly unchanged from copy to copy, the illuminations vary dramatically, both in how scenes are depicted and in which episodes artists choose to depict. Larisa has decided to focus on the evolution of depictions of India and its inhabitants across these various copies, because the Getty copy, which dates to 1475, contains images that are different from earlier illuminated versions. While other copies don't dedicate more than one or two illustrations to India, the Getty copy has several that draw upon the medieval tradition of the "monstrous peoples" as well as knowledge of geography, materials, and customs newly gained through trade. This work ties into broader scholarly efforts to shed light on globalization in the Middle Ages. "Scholars of medieval art have generally thought of Western Europe as the center and non-European places as the periphery. There has now been a revision of that view," says Larisa. "These manuscripts provide an interesting glimpse into how late-medieval Europeans made sense of their world, including... Question: How long did it take Larisa to get her PhD? Options: A. Six years B. Twelve years C. not enough information D. One year === The correct answer is
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A

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U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday blasted former FBI director James Comey as an "untruthful slime ball," and said it was his "great honor" to fire him. Trump's barrage of insults comes as Comey engages in a publicity campaign for his book, "A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership," which is set to be released next week. The memoir promises a deep look at Comey's fraught relationship with the U.S. president who fired him, and whom Comey has accused of interfering in the independence of the FBI. On Twitter, Trump said Comey should be prosecuted. Trump's comments are in line with an online campaign, organized by his supporters, to discredit Comey. The Republican National Committee on Thursday launched a new website, Lyin'Comey.com, which features quotes from prominent Democrats who have criticized the former FBI director in the past. The GOP plans to fact-check Comey's book and use the website for "rapid response" to highlight any "misstatements" or "contradictions," Fox News reports. Comey's book blasts Trump as unethical and "untethered to truth'' and calls his leadership of the country "ego driven and about personal loyalty.'' The book also contains several personal jabs at Trump, including references to what Comey says are the "bright white half-moons" under Trump's eyes, which he surmises were the result of Trump using tanning goggles. Comey also casts Trump as a Mafia boss-like figure who sought to blur the line between law enforcement and politics, and tried to pressure him regarding his investigation into Russian election interference, according to multiple early reviews of the book. Trump fired Comey in May 2017, setting off a storm of charges from Democrats that the president sought to hinder an investigation into whether his campaign colluded with Russians. The firing led to the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation. Mueller's probe has expanded to include whether Trump obstructed justice by firing Comey, an idea the president denies. Trump has... Question: Comey probably believes that: Options: A. not enough information B. He was a friend of Donald Trump C. He will be hired back to work for Donald Trump D. He was unfairly fired === The correct answer is
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D

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Earlier this week, @naval (CEO and co-founder of AngelList) asked a question on Twitter: "The challenge of the next decade is not Artificial Intelligence, but Human Intelligence. Can we retrain the workforce as knowledge workers?"" At the heart of his question is an interesting observation. As automation and artificial intelligence replaces manual jobs, how do we retrain people in the new knowledge economy where information handling and management is in high demand? I thought I would share some experiences, observations, and recommendations based upon when I did this previously in my career. Back in 2004 I was peddling my wares as a journalist, writing for the tech press. I was living in the West Midlands in England and heard about a new organization in nearby Birmingham called OpenAdvantage. The premise was neat: open source was becoming a powerful force in technology and OpenAdvantage was set up to provide free consultancy for companies wanting to harness open source, as well as individuals who wanted to upskill in these new technologies. At the time in the West Midlands lots of industry was being automated and moved out to Asia, so lots of Midlanders were out of jobs and looking to retrain. This required, by definition, retaining the workforce as knowledge workers. OpenAdvantage was funded by the UK government and the University of Central England, had a decent war chest, and was founded by Scott Thompon and Paul Cooper (the latter of which I met when he heckled me at a talk I gave at a Linux User Group once. 🙂 ) So, I went along to their launch event and wrote a piece about them. Shortly after, Paul and Scott invited me back over to the office and offered me a job there as an open source consultant. I took the role, and this is where I cut my teeth on a lot of open source, community, and working with businesses. We had crazy targets to hit each month, so we ended up working with and training hundreds of organizations and individuals across a wide range of areas, and covering a wide berth of open source... Question: What happened after the writer wrote about OpenAdvantage? Options: A. He became a knowledge worker B. He became a peddler C. not enough information D. The founders hired him === The correct answer is
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D