The Game Designer-Turned UFO Skeptic

West, a retired British-American game designer, is a relatively recent figure in the realm of professional skepticism, making an examination of his UFO-related views somewhat complex. Notably, he appears to be adapting and evolving in his stance. Even while preparing this article, West’s rhetoric regarding UFOs has shown signs of flux.

The author of the 2018 book Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect, West has done commendable work. He seems genuinely disturbed by the rise of QAnon and is interested in aiding those ensnared in that web of delusion. Additionally, he co-authored a peer-reviewed scientific article in 2016 alongside several climate scientists to definitively address the “chemtrail” conspiracy, which was published in Environmental Research Letters and recognized by the data science firm Altmetric as among the top five percent of peer-reviewed studies in terms of public interest.

Unlike seasoned UFO debunker Robert Sheaffer, who relishes in confrontations, West's discussions, particularly with Seattle podcaster Zac Cichy—who has a nuanced, decades-long perspective on UFOs—have been thoughtful and engaging.

Most importantly, earlier this year on Twitter, West made notable remarks:

For a professional skeptic to concede that the possibility of an extraterrestrial origin for UFOs “should be on the table” and that UAPs “could be aliens” is quite significant. Though it’s likely that many skeptics have made similar claims begrudgingly, West's acknowledgment in the #UFOTwitter arena—known for its heated debates—stands out.

West is engaged on Twitter, where I’ve had a few interactions with him, and he consistently displays a polite and helpful demeanor. However, I must admit that I don’t closely follow his work, as his focus—at least on social media—tends to be on debunking UFO videos and photographs, a pursuit that does not particularly interest me.

Regardless, West is dedicated to his role as a UFO debunker, insisting that there’s nothing noteworthy to observe. There is no substantial evidence. Smoke does not imply fire, and so forth.

Even when there may be.

‘UFOs are aliens’

In his inaugural column for Skeptical Inquirer, titled The Practical Skeptic, West addressed UFO conspiracy theories, stating, “You might not initially consider UFOs as a conspiracy theory. After all, who is supposedly conspiring?” He notes that interest in UFOs typically accompanies some form of conspiracy theory.

He elaborates:

> “To grasp why, we must examine the other implicit belief that UFOlogists hold: that UFOs are associated with aliens—entities from another planet.”

If this forms the basis of West's argument for his so-called conspiracy theory spectrum, it appears to lack solid ground. It’s akin to asserting, “To comprehend why someone believes in absurd ideas, you must investigate another absurd idea.”

West is skipping a crucial step.

To truly understand why an interest in UFOs is often tied to conspiracy theories, one must examine the evidence—however limited—that underpins those beliefs or strong suspicions, the latter being merely another term for a hypothesis.

It seems West has not considered that the evidence pointing to a governmental conspiracy—a claim requiring far less proof than that needed to substantiate the existence of aliens—validates interest in UFOs from the outset. One could argue that the secrecy surrounding the topic—which is the core conspiracy that matters—fuels uninformed speculation, something skeptics are known to oppose.

West proceeds to assert that the UFO-alien connection—though unverified—is accepted by “everyone” intrigued by UFOs, allowing him to subsequently dismiss their related and seemingly irrational beliefs about UFO conspiracies. Interestingly, the final sentence encapsulating this section offers ironic context for his October tweet:

> “Who is claiming UFOs might be aliens?” he queries in his column. “Everyone is.”

It’s worth noting that West joined “everyone” at 9:52 p.m. Pacific Time on October 24, 2021.

The UFO Conspiracy Spectrum

Building upon the model he introduced in Escaping the Rabbit Hole, West contends that UFO conspiracy theories exist on a spectrum ranging from mundane realities, such as corporate corruption and organized crime, to outlandish notions like flat-earth theories or the bizarre realm of QAnon.

As a professional skeptic, West feels compelled to recognize the full spectrum of UFO-related conspiracy theories, which at its extreme includes topics like interdimensional beings, “secretive magical creatures from Earth,” time-traveling humans, and more.

However, aside from the fact that concepts such as interdimensionality and time travel are now considered theoretically plausible by some scientists, there’s little reason to delve into that fringe of West's conspiracy spectrum.

To establish the legitimacy of the subject and clarify that a paranormal phenomenon warrants serious investigation, one need only step a few paces away from what he categorizes as the “mundane” end.

Let’s proceed step by step.

‘Mundane’ Conspiracy Theories

Here’s West in his Skeptical Inquirer column:

> “Somewhere between zero and one lies the notion that the government… possesses evidence of anomalous objects, doesn’t fully comprehend what that evidence entails, and is loosely conspiring to conceal that ignorance.”

He describes this as a “barely-a-conspiracy theory” because it makes no mention of aliens. He continues:

> “However, the stakes escalate for most UFO enthusiasts. Many… believe that ‘the phenomenon’ (an overly broad term that encompasses a wide variety of largely unrelated events) has persisted for over seventy years. The government has had ample opportunity to collect data throughout this time. Thus, the conspiracy evolves into a more substantial cover-up. The government supposedly knows UFOs are ‘real’ but refuses to disclose this to the public.”

At some point within Twilight of the Skeptics, we’ll revisit the “wide variety of largely unrelated events.” For now, it’s useful to analyze this last statement, as the implication of placing quotation marks around “real” is essentially the very act skeptics claim should not occur: equating “UFO” with “alien.”

Since Kenneth Arnold witnessed whatever it was he observed in 1947, it has been universally acknowledged that unidentified objects (or phenomena) are indeed real. No one contests this. Skeptics remind us of this consistently: The ‘U’ stands for unidentified! It’s as much a mantra as it is a statement of fact.

The reality that deserves our attention is the existence of a genuinely enigmatic phenomenon that the government neither explains nor can explain—not due to a lack of data, but because all existing data suggests or supports an ontological anomaly that appears to exclude all known natural or human origins. West has already acknowledged this reality by labeling them as “anomalous objects.” A chorus of former and current government officials echoes this sentiment.

“We don’t comprehend everything we’re observing,” stated Director of Intelligence Avril Haines recently at a forum titled “Our Future in Space” in Washington, D.C., marking the first time a DNI has recognized that extraterrestrials could be a possible source of at least some UAPs that have perplexed investigators. Senator Mitt Romney, during a CNN segment this summer, unequivocally ruled out China, Russia, and the United States. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson remarked that upon reviewing the DNI’s classified UAP report, “The hair stood up on the back of my neck.”

Skeptics may deny it, but decades of ufology have yielded a tremendous amount of evidence—and yes, by “evidence,” we refer to the testimonies of thousands of credible individuals—that such an anomaly, regardless of how anyone interprets or presumes or hopes or claims it might be, exists. Even notable UFO debunker Philip J. Klass seemed to grasp this at some level and articulated it in writing. In retrospect, it might be the most significant statement he ever made.

A Flawed Spectrum

Now we return to the first two points on West’s UFO conspiracy spectrum, which can be summarized as follows:

> Based on extensive study, the U.S. government has evidence of anomalous objects, colloquially referred to as ‘UFOs’ and/or ‘UAPs.’ Regardless of whether the government comprehends their exact nature and origin, it has historically been secretive about its investigation of the phenomenon (sometimes even denying such investigations when they were indeed occurring) and reluctant to fully disclose its findings, often citing “national security” as a reason.

According to West's spectrum of UFO conspiracy theories, if we employ a “scale of one to ten” ranking system, this effectively encapsulates 1–3, with the first being so “mundane” (i.e., entirely evident and/or believable) as to be “barely a conspiracy theory.”

However, there’s a significant issue with this portion of West’s UFO conspiracy theory spectrum, or more accurately, a critical flaw: none of it is theoretical; it is all factual.

Let’s clarify exactly what we’re discussing and what we’re not addressing:

In the absence of an alien autopsy conducted at the Mayo Clinic by licensed physicians from the American Medical Association, selected by Neil deGrasse Tyson, and broadcast live on high-definition video across all cable networks, with full results published in The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet, people could debate the existence of aliens indefinitely.

This is not what we are addressing—at least not on the spectrum defined by West. If we adhere strictly to only these initial points on West’s spectrum, “aliens” is not a query we can resolve or even need to pose. This segment of the spectrum excludes aliens; he asserts this. It pertains solely to “anomalous objects.” And, as skeptics remind us at every opportunity, anomalous does not equate to aliens. Anomalies in science occur regularly. And when they manifest as frequently as UFOs do, and in the diverse ways they do, they warrant investigation.

West is free to create whatever spectrum or matrix he deems fit to measure people’s capacity for the various forms of what he perceives as UFO delusion, but it is time to upgrade the one he introduced in Skeptical Inquirer. It was flawed from the outset, but recent developments have further challenged its validity.

West can position Bob Lazar, Roswell, reptilian aliens, anal probes, and interdimensional time-traveling shape-shifting beings wherever he chooses on the conspiracy spectrum. However, concerning points 1–3, recent developments alone are sufficient to push those “theories” into the realm of “fact.”

Even if West and Skeptical Inquirer are not prepared to concede that much, there is evidently ample—more than enough, in fact—to proceed and afford “conspiracists” on the left side of the spectrum the benefit of the doubt. A hypothesis, after all, is not intended to be a destination; it’s a starting point for further investigation.

The challenge confronting ufology is that the public institutions best equipped to conduct such investigations—and indeed have—are withholding much of what they know. The various government agencies and individuals that have engaged with the phenomenon over the years have conspired to keep much of their knowledge secret.

Certainly, NASA’s Nelson indicated that the classified information regarding UAPs caused his hair to stand on end, but he did not elaborate. Most of the U.S. Navy’s videos of UAP activity remain undisclosed. The Pentagon’s former UFO representative, Luis Elizondo, frequently hints that we are on the brink of a groundbreaking revelation regarding UAPs, but…sorry, non-disclosure agreement, can’t provide further details now, but it’s coming, wink wink. The list of such instances continues indefinitely.

Skeptics have long since lost the “mundane” ground. It has vanished, whether they accept it or not, buried beneath the weight of history. The intellectually honest approach for serious investigators (and skeptics) at this juncture is to pose difficult questions based on the perspective afforded by that ground and to demand the highest level of government transparency concerning UFOs.

That’s what skeptics ought to do. Instead, they tend to remain silent on the transparency issue, complain whenever someone like Harvard scientist Avi Loeb or Senator Kirsten Gillibrand seeks to investigate the topic, and blame the media for even covering it.

As the UFO narrative continues to unfold—and it will, for various reasons—that will be an uncomfortable position to maintain.