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Philip J. Klass, debunker of aliens, has died
August 11, 2005
Philip J. Klass, a founding member of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), has died at the age of 86. Klass passed away at his Maryland home on Tuesday August 9, 2005, after a long illness.
Klass was for many decades regarded as the leading debunker of ufo sightings, and later of alien encounters.
Klass promoted the idea that "experiencers" of alien contact were liars who were seeking attention. Klass' theory, such as it was, was eventually discounted even by members of his own organization: Today's skeptics - many of whom are members of the CSICOP group he cofounded - now believe that alien encounters are misinterpretations of the natural hallucinations which sometimes occur in the moments between waking and sleeping.
Klass is nonetheless fondly remembered by modern skeptics for the passion with which he expressed his opinions.
He is remembered somewhat less effusively by those whom he harmed through his comments.
Illustration (top): Klass makes his opinion known in the New York Times Magazine, March 20, 1994
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