A man in England recently posted a video called "Pentagon Strike" on the Internet that presents evidence supporting his theory that American Airlines flight 77 did not crash into the Pentagon building on Sept. 11, 2001. He claims that photographic, video and eyewitness accounts point to a missile or much smaller plane being responsible for the damage, resulting in a government cover-up.

Conspiracy theories like this always have existed and range from the various theories about the JFK assassination to the belief that we regularly are visited by extraterrestrials. While most people doubt these ideas, the fact that they exist at all is a symptom of a greater good — the tendency toward skepticism.

Wild conspiracy theories rarely find their way into the public spotlight, but when they do, there often is one crucial flaw in them — their publication. If what the theories claimed was true, especially in cases of government conspiracies, it stands to reason that the government would suppress such information.

Unfortunately for those who take comfort in that thought, the best way to suppress information is not to put an outright halt to its publication, but rather simply to discredit the information as it is published.

Philip Zelikow, executive director of the 9-11 Commission, told The Washington Post on Oct. 7, "One reason you tend to doubt conspiracy theories when you’ve worked in government is because you know government is not nearly competent enough to carry off elaborate theories. It’s a banal explanation, but imagine how efficient it would need to be."

Zelikow’s point is accurate — to effectively and large volume of information would require the government to expend a terrific amount of resources. Public misinformation is not something alien to this country, however. It happens most often during wartime, but facts regularly are construed to support claims made by the government. Body counts are inflated or deflated, economic reports omit salient points, polls are taken — and all politicians are guilty of it to some extent.

Conspiracy theories are racy and attractive to the public, but all facts and claims should be verified.

Anyone who chuckled at the video example in the first paragraph should do some research — if the photos are credible, they raise some questions. It is a responsibility of the citizens of a republic to be informed beyond what can be found on the evening news.

Gathering simple information is not enough — the information must be used to find the truth. Voltaire wrote, in his "Philosophical Dictionary," "He who has heard the thing told by twelve thousand eye-witnesses, has only twelve thousand probabilities, equal to one strong probability, which is not equal to certainty." Each witness may see the same event, but they also may have a very different idea of what they saw. Perception always becomes reality to the perceiver — the human mind must believe that what it interprets is real. Many sources must be examined for the truth to be determined.

Theories such as the "Pentagon Strike" theory defy established belief, but they challenge the public to ask questions and reexamine old information — something that never is detrimental. While society should never swallow an outlandish idea without substantial cause, looking with fresh eyes at old problems can lead to new revelations.

Alex Sirney is a sophomore SMAD/anthropology major.