(March 3, 2009) — A conspiracy theory, as teacher William Reyna defines it, “by nature is a type of theory that something is beyond your control.” And the consequence: comfort? Teacher Paul Burghdorf, who still expects to find Elvis when walking into a mall, thinks that’s exactly one of the reasons why “intelligent people, supposedly,” engage in theorizing. But to Reyna, comfort is not enough. “The point with any conspiracy is: is it true or not and what are the sources that back up that conspiracy,” Reyna said. And the problem? “The problem is when you say a conspiracy theory, it’s so hard to disprove it.” Reyna says “there’s very much an attraction to conspiracy theories” because of this difficulty. Despite this attraction, however, Reyna doesn’t see conspiracy theories persuading society to act. “I don’t know of too many conspiracy theories that wind up having something changed or called to action.” Reyna said. But, that’s not to say conspiracy theories aren’t worthwhile. According to senior Anny Edinchikyan, “the more conspiracies there are, the more people are looking deeper and deeper searching for the true answer.” It’s just that—at the same time, she said, “I think as a whole, it really doesn’t make sense, like a lot of them.” Edinchikyan classifies conspiracy theories into two major categories: political and social. The latter, she said, may originate from rumors that could benefit the “conspirators.” For example, theories like “Paul McCartney is dead” could bring about an increase in attention to the Beatles. In the political realm, however, Edinchikyan sees an increased potential to harm. According to Reyna, political conspiracy theories often originate at suspicion or the motive to promote a certain view. These theories, he says, may be founded or unfounded. Thus, to Reyna, it comes down to evidence. “You show me the evidence—the evidence is credible— I will believe it,” Renyna says. But until we corroborate or refute a live Elvis, a dead McCartney, or a more radical 9/11 theory, Burghdorf notes what he doesn’t need statistics or thorough deduction to conclude: “We love conspiracies in the United States.”