Water Dowsing

[nickyboy]

Muscle movements caused by subconcious activity is true - to me personally quite clearly so as I can feel it. Again to me at least the interesting question is subconcious mental activity in reaction to what ?7

Some of the anti-dowsing arguments upthread seem akin to claiming there's no such thing as a placebo because homeopathy is bunk rather than having any real logic or rationality.

As I mentioned, it could be topography, vegetation, sound, smell, vibration

The problem for dowsers is that they keep banging on about "earth ray" nonsense and aren't taken seriously as a result. What they should be doing is explaining that some people are sensitive to these subconscious stimuli and that is useful.

There is no direct link between the water and the rods. The link is between the water (and clues to presence of water) and the subconscious brain. The brain then links to the muscles and the muscles link to the rods

 

[User482]

I read it in Janes, those people who publish the lists of aircraft.

I read that the military weren't interested because the Wrights refused to provide a demonstration.

 

[Profpointy]

I read it in Janes, those people who publish the lists of aircraft.

I was teasing rather than doubting. Should have put the emoji

 

[glasgowcyclist]

And why do 8 out 10 people have the same reactions in the same place. And why do you feel your own muscles tensing in the same place.

Did the candidates complete each test separately and without any knowledge of each of the other attempts or results? Was the 8/10 outcome repeatable? Were the tests repeated while the candidates were blindfolded?

 

[Profpointy]

Did the candidates complete each test separately and without any knowledge of each of the other attempts or results? Was the 8/10 outcome repeatable? Were the tests repeated while the candidates were blindfolded?

Just try it yourself and tell us the outcome

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Just try it yourself and tell us the outcome

While I'm sceptical about dowsing, I am open-minded and interested in the experience you have had. My questions weren't meant as a challenge to your experience but for clarification of the circumstances. If the people involved were present at, or aware of, the tests and outcomes, that might explain the 8/10 result.

It wasn't my intention to cast doubt on your account of what happened.

 

[psmiffy]

While I'm sceptical about dowsing, I am open-minded

Im not skeptical or open minded about dowsing - it is pure bunkum

 

[GrumpyGregry]

isn't it rather up to the private businesses what knobjockery they employ. HR depts spew baseless psychobabble all the time that is way more out there than dowsing

 

[nickyboy]

Im not skeptical or open minded about dowsing - it is pure bunkum

I'm not sure it is. There seems to be a fair body of evidence that some people can identify stuff like underground flowing water using dowsing rods with a better hit rate than pure chance

The bunkum bit is that somehow the water directly influences the movement of the rods

 

[psmiffy]

I'm not sure it is. There seems to be a fair body of evidence that some people can identify stuff like underground flowing water using dowsing rods with a better hit rate than pure chance

Is there? Ive spent all my life digging holes to find what is in the ground - be it the geology - groundwater - buried structures - underground pipes et.al. - if there was a body of people with these talents I would have come across them by now and saved the people I work for hundreds of thousands of pounds

 

[psmiffy]

Fair body of belief perhaps.

In the old days the most dangerous (and expensive) thing you could have on a construction site was a digger driver with a set of divining rods

 

[Mr Celine]

Another cynic here who tried it and found it worked. It completely freaked me out - walking across father-in-law's garden with a couple of bent rods to humour him .... Aaaargh... They just moved! I didn't do anything to make it happen. And yes, there was a buried field drain there.

I should add that we weren't actually looking for anything. Father in law lived in a rural cottage and used to get a box of random library books delivered every month. One month this included a book about water divining and being of an enquiring mind he gave it a go. I was visiting for the weekend and with the above result. Mrs Celine also tried but got nothing. A friend arrived later - he was even more freaked out than I was, he actually dropped the rods. Three of us having science degrees and four enquiring minds led to some more experimenting.
Watching each other we were altering the angle of our wrists which was causing the rods to swing. None of us felt ourselves doing this.
Further experiments with eyes shut after being led a circuitous path round the garden by Mrs Celine were inconclusive, but considerable drink had been taken by then.
This was 25 years ago. None of us have ever tried dowsing for water or anything else since then.

As for technology I have a stud detector which is supposed to find studs, cables etc in plasterboard walls. It frequently fails to find them, or gives false positives. It is no more than a useful indicator of where to look first.

 

[nickyboy]

Fair body of belief perhaps.

I think the temptation is for anything that doesn't readily fit within understanding based on the scientific process to be dismissed as cranks and hogwash.

Of course most if it is the work of cranks and is hogwash. I'm just presenting an alternative hypothesis that with water dowsing there may be a science-based explanation for these apparent effects

I am not, repeat not, going all "David Icke"

 

[User482]

I think the temptation is for anything that doesn't readily fit within understanding based on the scientific process to be dismissed as cranks and hogwash.

Of course most if it is the work of cranks and is hogwash. I'm just presenting an alternative hypothesis that with water dowsing there may be a science-based explanation for these apparent effects

I am not, repeat not, going all "David Icke"

Yes, but it hasn't been established that there is an effect.

 

[Tin Pot]

I think the temptation is for anything that doesn't readily fit within understanding based on the scientific process to be dismissed as cranks and hogwash.

No, repeatedly no.

The temptation is to dismiss ideas that have no supporting evidence.

That temptation is good and true.

Of course most if it is the work of cranks and is hogwash. I'm just presenting an alternative hypothesis that with water dowsing there may be a science-based explanation for these apparent effects

No, you aren’t.

You are rejecting scientific method of analysing the world and choosing to...

...go all "David Icke"

...Instead.