Dowsing: Fact or Fiction?

Myal said:
There are folk who have posted n the thread , offering to show whoever wishes what happens and how they do it .
No one took them up , despite repeated offers .

That speaks volumes in itself .
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You can lead a wallaby to water but... :D
 
It does that mate. It says when a person is so slack in their methods of establishing cause and effect TF they are only digging holes in the ground and not performing eye surgery on your woman.


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One thing that occurred to me the other day was; "what exactly is the role of the dowser supposed to be in the alleged effect?". Are they supposed to bring something special to the mix when they hold the ends of those bits or twig of coat hanger? Suppose we attach those bits of coat hanger or twig to a pair of gimbals, thus removing the possibility the operator is introducing any effect, and then pass buckets of substances underneath - do they move then? Could we all easily knock up such apparatus from bits found in the shed and a pair of drinking straws to hold the wands? If any apparent effect only occurs when a human is touching them does that finally illuminate it is bollox or is that effect humans apparently introduce to the materials something well known that structural engineers and so on have to factor in when making stuff

Is it only an inquiring mind and a strong aversion to gullibility that keeps the stake from the horse's heart? Or is it that on a forum such as this you best be right or you run the risk of being a hazard that puts people in peril. In the 4th world [when things are really tough and "the kerosene record player is not a very efficient device"] do villagers use attempt this method to scavenge for water? Do they die from drought anyway? Would they do better just to throw the wands away and save up for a spade and just dig a big hole wherever they happen to be standing, and open a chippy next door.

lex parsimoniae
 
Interesting suggestions for experiments. Try them and see what the results are. If I tried them, you would not believe the results I reported anyway.

IMHO, the involvement of the human body must have something to do with it. Every successful method I am aware of requires involvement of two hands. I've not tried insulating my hands from the rods yet. I may do that out of curiosity.
 
Myal said:
There are folk who have posted n the thread , offering to show whoever wishes what happens and how they do it .
No one took them up , despite repeated offers .

That speaks volumes in itself .
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Wahahahaha...that speaks to the fact that no one wants to spend money on a plain ticket to Tenn. to watch pseudo science. It proves nothing. I can't believe this thread has gone this far.
 
A plain ticket? Cheaper than a fancy ticket I suppose. There are in fact members here in Tennessee. And as I have suggested, there is the option of people trying it for themselves, or asking around locally for people who use it in their work. One or more member has posted that they did try it and it worked for them. More than that have posted that they have seen it done. Don't want the thread to continue? Quit reading and posting in it. Simple science. :D
 
Codger_64 said:
A plain ticket? Cheaper than a fancy ticket I suppose. There are in fact members here in Tennessee. And as I have suggested, there is the option of people trying it for themselves, or asking around locally for people who use it in their work. One or more member has posted that they did try it and it worked for them. More than that have posted that they have seen it done. Don't want the thread to continue? Quit reading and posting in it. Simple science. :D
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Yep can't abide a fancy ticket. :D

I'm just surprised it hasn't been locked by a mod is all. Seems the discussion has deteriorated into a "beliefs" thread. Question I have for you though. Doesn't your utility companies come out and mark where the lines are for free?
 
Yes they do. I call them every time. Or rather I call a One-Call_Locator service and they contact the utilities for me. But the water company is not responsible for contractor or homeowner installed feeder lines, just the service line from the meter to the house. Same for the electric company. They are not responsible for feeder lines, just from the service pole to the meter. Gas company and phone, cable tv is the same. If someone ran a feeder line to a BBQ grille or shop or garden, it is not their responsibility. And no one is responsible for rural wells and septic systems and their field lines. Which brings to mind something else. A lot of septic system services dowse to find tanks and field lines. You might ask them to demo for you.

ETA: As long as people are being civil and asking/answering pertinant questions, and we can bring light not heat to the conversation, I can't see a reason to lock the thread. You may rest assured that it is being read and moderated by the mods who moderate this forum and our favorite Super-duper mod too. If anyone really is so offended by the discussion that they want it locked, use the report button. That is what it is there for. :) PPersonally, I think this is a fun discussion. ;)
 
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Haven't any of you seen the episode of Lassie where the douser comes out to locate the water well location prior to the drilling rig's arrival? If it was on Lassie, it must be true.
 
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:D
 
Shotgun said:
Yep can't abide a fancy ticket. :D

I'm just surprised it hasn't been locked by a mod is all. Seems the discussion has deteriorated into a "beliefs" thread. Question I have for you though. Doesn't your utility companies come out and mark where the lines are for free?
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Yes, it's a "beliefs" thread. Yes, the utilities will mark-out their facilities for free. No, it isn't hard to draw a straight line between the water meter and the first corner of the house where the customer's water line daylights into a regluator or valve.
 
No, it isn't hard to draw a straight line between the water meter and the first corner of the house where the customer's water line daylights into a regluator or valve.
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That is the kind of location you "practice". You actually can locate pipes. Works really well on oil and gas pipelines too. You can also "locate" power lines if you aren't paying attention. Their electrical field will turn the rods. Ah... non believiers. But as far as finding water, I'm not convinced that a drill rig may be a better bet.
 
JCavSD said:
Yes, it's a "beliefs" thread. Yes, the utilities will mark-out their facilities for free. No, it isn't hard to draw a straight line between the water meter and the first corner of the house where the customer's water line daylights into a regluator or valve.
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Water lines seldom run in a straight line and the regulator and valve are built into the meter, normally located at the road right of way, not at a residence. A gas meter might be adjacent to the house, but not if the house has LP service. In that case, the shutoff valve, regulator and fill guage are located on the tank. As I noted, no one is responsible for marking out non-utility company owned obstructions such as septic tanks or their field lines, wells and their feeder lines, homeowner installed feeders for electricity, water, gas and phones.
 
paperairplane said:
James Randi still has his $1million dollars.
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Are you certain of that? Where does a stage magician come up with a million dollars to put into a trust for such a thing? And as has been explained, he only offers it for proof of a supernatural event. It is a part of his schtick, his gimmick. That has nothing to do with dowsing as I practice it.
 
dowsing has been tested - it does not work - read the wiki page about it - its no better than chance...
 
Codger, You keep bringing up the fact that James Randi is a magician like that is a bad thing. People who claim super powers ,like Uri Gellar ,cannot fool him like they do others. Being a magician he is naturally skeptical and harder to fool than most.
 
Codger_64 said:
Water lines seldom run in a straight line and the regulator and valve are built into the meter, normally located at the road right of way, not at a residence.
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Water regulators and valves are not part of the meter and are not "built in". Meters are stand alone, but valves are often screwed on both on the front and the back of the meter. Regulators have pipe threads on either end and can be installed anywhere along the pipe. If you've haven't looked at them closely or taken them apart and I can see how you'd think they are part of the same unit.

Must be different building codes in different areas. Common practice here is for the regulator to be on the side of the garage (usually inside) with a spigot on the outside wall of the garage. Water meter is in a box just off the sidewalk or street on the customer's property, and it's usually a straightish shot to the regulator. Sometimes meters are on one side or the other of the property, so there may be two meters side by side on the property line. Contractors aren't all about waste (money out of their pockets), if they can get the water line to the house with five sticks of pipe instead of seven then that's what they'll do. Usually involves a straight path.
 
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You will be amazed at the screwy things that are done with buried piping. The old piping is seldom removed. They find it and replace what they need for their purpose regardless of whether or not it is a business or residence.

You have to be smart about it however.... if you are looking for a pipe, it is generally linear and you should locate it at a couple points and essentially "draw a strainght line" between these points. You may still be off 6", but you'll be close.

I believe most regulators are generally near the building on water and gas lines.

I had some lines marked once... started digging with a small track hoe... smelled gas.... found old lines that were somehow still active. Like I said, you can't depend on things always being done by common sense. Remember however, it is a requirement to have the lines marked "before you dig" otherwise the repair can be substantial. You can also end up on the news and you can also cause the death of a coworker. There is liability here! The utility company will bill you for all the repairs if you do not follow the rules.
 
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