That million Septic shekels is a real sum of money. Why has no dowser yet won it?

The testimonials of dowsers and those who observe them provide the main evidence for dowsing. The evidence is simple: dowsers find what they are dowsing for and they do this many times. What more proof of dowsing is needed? The fact that this pattern of dowsing and finding something occurs repeatedly leads many dowsers and their advocates to make the causal connection between dowsing and finding water, oil, minerals, golf balls, etc. This type of fallacious reasoning is known as post hoc reasoning and is a very common basis for belief in paranormal powers. It is essentially unscientific and invalid. Scientific thinking includes being constantly vigilant against self-deception and being careful not to rely upon insight or intuition in place of rigorous and precise empirical testing of theoretical and causal claims. Every controlled study of dowsers has shown that dowsers do no better than chance in finding what they are looking for.

Not strictly to do with dowsing, and nothing to do with the Falklands, but I can assure readers that there is another world/plane/dimension/whatever you want to call it, that we normally cannot perceive (nothing to do with religion, either)

Neither of these were previously known & therefore a pretty good test of something to which I applied a high degree of scepticism.

Possibly because the small print says more than the headlines.

I've used dowsing rods to ACCURATELY plot the position of land drains across a couple of my fields & to track the underground watercourse feeding a spring.
Neither of these were previously known & therefore a pretty good test of something to which I applied a high degree of scepticism.

Well I also had a high degree of scepticism, but it shocked the hell out of me when the bit of whale bone I was holding apparently came alive in my hands and nearly took my nose off. But you are quite right it was a sample of one and highly subjective. So I am interested in finding out more about how it was that the thing I was holding moved so violently that I couldnt control it and had to drop it. Ideomotor effect was it? Lets have some details about how that works please. From what I read on the website that debunks dowsing, the controlled tests generally observed twitching and small movements. In my case the bloody thing I was holding nearly took my nose off.

The only other scientific test of map dowsing that can be found in the available literature was conducted under the auspices of the British Army and the MOD. (Foulkes, 1971.) These tests were conducted to search for mines at the Military Engineering Experimental Department (MEXE). Seven dowsers, designated A-E, were given a map of one of MEXE�s outstations. The mapped area covered 384 acres and contained 6.7 miles of roads and tracks. Twenty inert mines were buried in the roads and tracks.

Experimenter A was sent a sample mine to practise on. He was informed that the mines were only to be found in the roads and tracks, and that any of his marks would be assumed to cover the full width of the road and a strip 10 feet wide. This corresponded to an error on the map of ± 0.025 inches. He was not told how many mines were buried or given any clues as to their location.

A then proceeded to map dowse. His first attempt found 27 mines. None of his marks were any closer than 80 feet from a mine. A then requested more samples to practise on, the position of two mines, and also that a stretch of road containing mines be marked on the map. This was done, and a 3,400-foot stretch containing 5 mines was marked on the map. A claimed to find 8 mines, and none of his marks were any closer than 20 feet to a mine. A then suggested a more limited trial, so he was sent a map of a figure-of-eight track. A 300-foot stretch was indicated, in which were buried 5 mines. Experimenters B, C, D, and E also dowsed this map. (See Table 1.)

Table 1. Map dowsing achievements.

EXPERIMENTER

DISTANCE MARK TO MINE (FEET)
A - 149
B - 159
C - 150
D - 102
E- 84

It is plain to see that even the best dowser, E got nowhere near a mine.

The original map and set up was then dowsed by Experimenter F. He made 26 marks on the map, none closer than 60 feet. He then claimed that the inert filling of the mine (sand and pitch) was too similar to the surrounding area, and asked to be allowed to search for a buried bottle of homeopathic medicine. He failed to locate this.

G also tried the original map, and was told there were less than 50 mines. He claimed to locate 53, but none of his marks were any closer than 40 feet.

As a comparison, 50 MEXE members of staff were asked to guess the location of mines in the 3,400 stretch of road. Eighteen guessed the correct number and one was within 1 foot of an actual mine. It is plain to see that the dowsers� results were significantly worse than chance.

I'd be interested to have a go at a proper blind test. I have done some on two occasions and found what I was looking for both times. However this clearly isn't a proper test as has been discussed before. The effect is certainly a very real one when using bent wires. The set I first used had copper tube handles so the wire itself wasn't touched by the hand. Something happens and as the only physical inputs can be gravity and wind it is hard to say what it is.

I'm a very sceptical sort of chap but have been quite struck by the effect and the results that I have had.

I do wonder whether things that have been buried for some time are more "detectable" than those that are freshly buried for the purpose of a test. If so, it might well be the case that the dowser is picking up on something such as the ground surface etc.

Go and win the prize then. I am guessing that you wont.

I'd be interested to have a go at a proper blind test. I have done some on two occasions and found what I was looking for both times. However this clearly isn't a proper test as has been discussed before. The effect is certainly a very real one when using bent wires. The set I first used had copper tube handles so the wire itself wasn't touched by the hand. Something happens and as the only physical inputs can be gravity and wind it is hard to say what it is.