The Diary of Kristina’s Two Brain Cells

October 27th’s presentation was about the movie Now You See Me and how magic, deception, and psychology can work together. The presentation focused on the Four Horsemen, a group of four magicians who each had different specialties, including card tricks, mentalism, escape acts, and hustling. They used their abilities to perform elaborate tricks and carry out robberies while staying ahead of the FBI and other investigators. I thought it was interesting how their performances relied on more than just magic tricks. A lot of it involved a deep understanding how people think and react. One concept that stood out to me was social engineering. This is when someone manipulates another person into giving up information or access to something. In the presentation, the Horsemen studied a man closely enough and asked the correct questions to be able to recreate his bank vault and figure out how to get the information they needed. This connects to real life because people can sometimes be easier to...

October 22nd’s class was about hoaxes and how easily people can be convinced to believe something that is not true. We discussed examples like the Great Moon Hoax, where a newspaper claimed scientists had discovered life on the moon, and the War of the Worlds broadcast, which presented a fictional alien invasion as if it were real. I think these examples show how much people depend on the information they are given, especially when it comes from a source they trust—or for modern times, TikTok or Instagram.  Something I found interesting was the psychology behind why people believe hoaxes. Confirmation bias, authority bias, and social proof can all influence how we interpret information. I think this is especially relevant today because people often see something online and immediately believe or share it without checking whether it is accurate. Sometimes, if enough people are talking about something, we assume there must be some truth to it. Repeated exposure can also make false in...