Beyond the Curtain: Architecture, Memory, and the Illusion of Reasoning in LLMs
Beyond the Curtain: Architecture, Memory, and the Illusion of Reasoning in LLMs By Austin Staton IT Professional & Bellevue University Alumnus Introduction: The Bedrock of Continuous Learning It has been just over a year since I walked across the stage at Bellevue University, and in that time, the professional landscape has shifted beneath our feet. Working in IT and data center operations for over eight years has taught me one immutable truth: the moment you stop learning is the moment you become obsolete. As a species, our existence is built on a bedrock of continuous learning, drawing on the discoveries of those who came before us, trusting one another, and acknowledging that we will never truly "know everything." With the rapid proliferation of Large Language Models (LLMs) like Gemini, Claude, and GPT, I felt a personal necessity to look "behind the curtain." You know you think you know, but do you? I wanted to understand not just what these tools have b...
