Dowsing

[Geronimo W. Christ Esq]

It was obviously smart enough to tell you it was feeling better.

[Geronimo W. Christ Esq]

No of course not. But there is an explanation for most observed physical phenomena on earth. Dowsing is not an observed physical phenomena, ie it cannot be demonstrated to work.

The reason why I asked the question is because the interactions between physical objects such as wood, brass or water involved in dowsing are generally very well understood.

You have to ask questions about these things. How do you stop yourself from being taken in by con-artists if you are willing to believe any theory they make up about anything ?

[Geronimo W. Christ Esq]

Efforts to prove that the earth was round were ultimately successful.

Physical phenomena, such as the range of known interactions between objects such as water and wood, are generally well understood. I wouldn't go so far as to claim that we know everything that can possibly be known, but if dowsing was as simple and as obvious as people claim that it is, a way would have been found to explain it in terms of physics. We know about things like magnetic fields, electric fields, and electromagnetic radiation, which along with other things are the names we give to the forces at work when things interact.

The laws of physics do not explain dowsing for a good reason - there is no basis upon which to formulate a law, because dowsing does not work. Attempts to prove that dowsing works have been singular failures. If dowsing did work, then I am reasonably confident that there would be a scientific explanation why.

[Geronimo W. Christ Esq]

My apologies. You said that they'd "done" it so I assumed that you had observed it and didn't have a dispute with it.

[dennis]

Who are you calling a plonker? ;-)

[Owain]

I wish I'd bloody never bloody mentioned bloody dowsing ...

If the OP starts wandering round the garden and two pieces of coathanger start oscillating like a Dalek's antennae then he may have found his drain leak. If they don't he hasn't lost anything.

Owain

[Geronimo W. Christ Esq]

Like Santa Claus ?

How do you determine fact from fiction in your world ? You almost certainly do it every day without thinking - yet you're questioning other people doing it right here.

[owdman]

As I said - many are highly plausible. Still a fraud/liar/nutter though. He's obviously pulled the wool over your eyes!

cheers

Jacob

[John White]

I know the feeling - If only you'd had a crystal ball ...

John

[meow2222]

Well, we have no way to know. But chance does look like a pretty likely explanation. One of the credible ones anyway.

belief wont get them that.

yes, though that has no bearing on whether or not dowsing works. When water dowsing, people are normally looking for a drain or a well, rather than the water table.

NT

[meow2222]

ok, tell us why I got 12 answers out of 12 right when I tried it. I sure dont know. It could be chance, but from that data the odds appear to be just 0.5^12 that it is.

only with limited depth. If you look into the pharmacology deeper you'll find more not known than known. There is a great deal of medical advance ahead of us yet.

Undoubtedly. But depite that, many people have successfully dowsed for drains, water pipes and so on. Thats the mystery.

NT

[John Rumm]

he would "clink" when he walked ;-)

[The Medway Handyman]

That would be scrying, not dowsing - and that doesn't work either :-)

[owdman]

But is this true? I doubt it. I've never seen a convincing demo and all accounts are very much hearsay. as yours is. I've been convinced for years that it's complete bollocks (or crystal balls) but am open minded and willing to look at any evidence should it ever come my way.

cheers

Jacob

[Chris Bacon]

You're in the wrong job. If it's that good you could earn lots and lots of money finding cables, pipes, leaks, etc. under roads in towns more reliably than any other cost effective method.

I wonder why dowsers aren't employed in very large numbers?

[The Natural Philosopher]

In the context of it 'not answering to the known laws of physics etc' yes.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Oh it does...just not in the way people would like it to.

[Mary Fisher]

I'm sorry, Owain ...

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

Well, you tell us.

[Mary Fisher]

Why is it so important to you?