Posts

Final Reflection Blog: Truth, History, and the Value of This Course

Friends and family are often confused by the honors courses I take at TCU. Every semester someone asks, “What even is that class and why are you taking it?” This course was no different. Trying to explain that we were studying witch hunts, mass delusions, fraud, deep fakes, and social media only made them more bewildered. But from the start, I knew it was a class I would enjoy, and the journey throughout the semester confirmed that. What made the biggest impact on me was how much understanding truth requires looking to the past. Studying the Salem Witch Hunt made it clear how fear, rumor, and group pressure can construct an entire false reality. It was not just a historical episode but a template for how quickly communities today can slip into panic or misinformation. The Millerite Movement and the White Slavery Panic added depth to that pattern, showing that people commit to powerful stories even when evidence is thin. Hope, fear, and urgency win more often than logic. Our unit on his...
1 comment
Read more

What I Learned Watching People Tell the “Truth”

 For this project, I didn’t just send out a link and wait. I literally stood there while people filled out my survey on truth, which instantly turned a simple assignment into a social experiment. The survey was anonymous but watching people react in real time told me almost as much as their answers did. The funniest part was how different people responded based on how well I knew them. My close friends barely blinked. They skimmed the questions, shrugged, and clicked their answers like it was no big deal, almost like being honest was easier because they trusted I wasn’t judging them. The people I didn’t know as well. Way different. They hesitated, reread the questions, and gave these nervous half-smiles before choosing anything. You could tell they were trying to figure out the “right” answer, even though I couldn’t see what they clicked. There was also a pretty clear difference between guys and girls. The guys were more straightforward quick taps, no explanation, no second-guess...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Art of the Swindle: When Deception Feels Like Magic

Today’s class explored the fascinating world of tricksters, frauds, and swindlers; people who blur the line between creativity and corruption. In mythology, tricksters tested moral limits and social rules. As we moved into the early modern era, frauds thrived in times of weak regulation, driven by ambition and greed. By the modern age, technology became the new stage for deception. We looked at famous con artists like George C. Parker, the “Bridge Hustler,” who repeatedly sold landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge to unsuspecting immigrants, and Victor Lustig, who posed as a French official to sell the Eiffel Tower for scrap. Both mastered the anatomy of a swindle: credibility, greed, exclusivity, and disappearance. What fascinated me most was how their schemes reflected the psychology of belief: authority, optimism, and herd mentality often make deception possible. Our discussion also touched on the larger social forces behind these schemes: inequality, obsession with success, and distru...
1 comment
Read more

Did Hitler Really Die in Germany?

#7: Adolf Hitler Escaped to Argentina A number of conspiracy theories are attached to famous figures in history, and Adolf Hitler is no different. With the Allies closing in and the war all but over, Hitler took his own life in his bunker with his wife, Eva Braun. British authors Simon Dunstan and Gerrard Williams have a different theory about Hitler’s end, however – they believe that the Fuhrer didn’t actually kill himself, but rather escaped to Argentina with Eva, and body doubles were shot instead. According to their book, “Grey Wolf: The Escape of Adolf Hitler,” the married couple settled down and had two daughters in South America before dying in 1962. This idea has been widely dismissed by historians, who claim that the theory has no substance. What is believed Followers of this theory believe that Adolf Hitler did not die by suicide in his Berlin bunker in April 1945. Instead, they claim that he escaped to Argentina with his wife, Eva Braun , using secret escape routes establi...
1 comment
Read more

Historical Hoaxes, Frauds, and The Wolf of Wall Street

A title to a blogpost I never thought I would write. Today’s class was great, and not just because I won Kahoot. What really stuck with me was how long people have been falling for lies, and how the same patterns keep repeating in different forms. We explored how deception shows up across history, from mythical aliens to scientific frauds, and how it still plays out in modern stories like The Wolf of Wall Street. The alien hoaxes fascinated me most. The Roswell incident and War of the Worlds both started with confusion and ended in chaos. They reminded me how people crave answers, even if they’re the wrong ones. When information is missing, imagination fills the gap and usually runs wild. Then we looked at hoaxes that wouldn’t die, like The Protocols of the Elders of Zion or the Cottingley Fairies. Those stories made me think about why people cling to falsehoods even after being told the truth. Sometimes it’s hate, sometimes it’s hope, but either way, belief is powerful. The pro...
1 comment
Read more

When Jeff Guinn Came to Class: Understanding Waco and the Branch Davidians

This week, our class had the incredible opportunity to hear from Jeff Guinn, the acclaimed journalist and author of Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians, and a Legacy of Rage . It’s one thing to read about a tragic event in history, but it’s another to listen to someone who spent years researching it by digging through records, interviewing survivors, and unpacking how it all spiraled into one of the most infamous standoffs in American history. Mr. Guinn’s talk wasn’t just about the 1993 siege itself, but about how it came to be. He walked us through the origins of the Branch Davidians, a small religious sect that evolved out of the Seventh-day Adventist movement, and how David Koresh rose to power by convincing followers that he was the final prophet or lamb. Mr. Guinn explained how Koresh’s charisma and biblical interpretations drew in ordinary people searching for meaning, structure, or belonging and how that devotion ultimately turned deadly. What stood out most to me was Mr. G...
1 comment
Read more

Is Laughter Truly the Best Medicine?

     “Think back to the last time you laughed,” a question posed to me today by Dr. Williams. It’s simple, but it really makes you realize how natural and powerful laughter is. From the time we’re little, laughter has this way of lifting our spirits and connecting us to others. It’s one of the few things that can completely change a mood in an instant. No matter how stressful or serious life gets, laughter breaks through and reminds us not to take everything so heavily. It’s more than just a reaction, it’s a weight off one’s shoulders. Laughter helps us reset, bond with others, and find a little bit of joy, even in the middle of ordinary moments. That’s why people say it’s the best medicine. Laughter might not fix problems, but it helps us heal emotionally and keeps life feeling lighter. Especially around midterms, when everyone feels overwhelmed and sleep-deprived, a good laugh can be exactly what we need to take a breath and reset.      That idea came to ...
1 comment
Read more