Dowsing by a Skeptic

[SaskMick]

I have been studying the two videos I made. In the first video when I turned my back my right hand shook just before I turned around, it's at 1:40 something. The shaking or trembling shows stress. Logic had crept in and was telling me she might not be where I was expecting.

In the second video I made ( it should be up on youtube by tomorrow ) my hands are almost continually shaking. I was trying to demonstrate the rods moving without visible hand movements if anything it made it worse, and it felt horrible.

If I relax and just dowse (and leave logical thought out of it ) everything works great, but when I focus on something other than the actual dowsing it all falls to pieces. It feels as if I am fighting with something. It's the logic that confuses.

That's it for tonight.

 

[Giordano]

She did not throw it, she went and hid it under the grass while I was eating sandwiches and drinking tea in the barn. I had no idea where the cell phone was. I walked straight to the phone.

How did you walk straight there (out of 7 acres) if your dowsing range is 3 feet? You must have known where she walked to do this, yes?

 

[Totovader]

She did not throw it, she went and hid it under the grass while I was eating sandwiches and drinking tea in the barn. I had no idea where the cell phone was. I walked straight to the phone.

Because the rods told you to go there, or because you followed her footsteps? Weren't you also able to approximate a relative distance based on the amount of time she was gone and her direction? Were you able to hear her footsteps?

You understand: it's an unbelievable claim. It requires a lot of evidence, and a skeptic would demand a lot more evidence instead of just stating they're convinced after a test which could easily be cheated.

Further, you should be looking to disprove your abilities, not prove them. All you're doing is jumping straight into confirmation bias.

 

[Totovader]

I have been studying the two videos I made. In the first video when I turned my back my right hand shook just before I turned around, it's at 1:40 something. The shaking or trembling shows stress. Logic had crept in and was telling me she might not be where I was expecting.

In the second video I made ( it should be up on youtube by tomorrow ) my hands are almost continually shaking. I was trying to demonstrate the rods moving without visible hand movements if anything it made it worse, and it felt horrible.

If I relax and just dowse (and leave logical thought out of it ) everything works great, but when I focus on something other than the actual dowsing it all falls to pieces. It feels as if I am fighting with something. It's the logic that confuses.

That's it for tonight.

In any scenario where logic confuses it... you should stop, think, and realize something isn't right. You're essentially admitting that you cannot think about it or it won't work. That's not rational- by definition.

 

[SaskMick]

How did you walk straight there (out of 7 acres) if your dowsing range is 3 feet? You must have known where she walked to do this, yes?

The dowsing range is at least many miles, how far exactly I don't know. It's within three feet that the rods cross.


Have you ever tried dowsing yourself ? I can do it, and I was a skeptic too !

 

[SaskMick]

Because the rods told you to go there, or because you followed her footsteps? Weren't you also able to approximate a relative distance based on the amount of time she was gone and her direction? Were you able to hear her footsteps?

You understand: it's an unbelievable claim. It requires a lot of evidence, and a skeptic would demand a lot more evidence instead of just stating they're convinced after a test which could easily be cheated.

Further, you should be looking to disprove your abilities, not prove them. All you're doing is jumping straight into confirmation bias.

I had no idea where she went or which direction. It was a test for me alone. She was gone longer than I expected, turned out she answered a call of nature while I was not around.

I understand it's an unbelievable claim for anyone who knows nothing about dowsing.


Have you ever tried to dowse ?

 

[Giordano]

The dowsing range is at least many miles, how far exactly I don't know. It's within three feet that the rods cross.


Have you ever tried dowsing yourself ? I can do it, and I was a skeptic too !

So now you are telling me that you can find anything you wish within a distance of many miles? Unbelievable. Have you thought about dowsing a gem mine, or just contacting an oil company? Good luck, I am out of here.

 

[SaskMick]

In any scenario where logic confuses it... you should stop, think, and realize something isn't right. You're essentially admitting that you cannot think about it or it won't work. That's not rational- by definition.

I know it's not rational, dowsing is not rational, that's why I'm trying so desperately to understand what's going on.

 

[SaskMick]

So now you are telling me that you can find anything you wish within a distance of many miles? Unbelievable. Have you thought about dowsing a gem mine, or just contacting an oil company? Good luck, I am out of here.

I've thought of all those things and more. And yes it's unbelievable to a non dowser.

I would guess that 50% of everyone here can dowse at a basic level at least. That is walk up and down and find water.

Try it !

 

[Totovader]

I had no idea where she went or which direction. It was a test for me alone. She was gone longer than I expected, turned out she answered a call of nature while I was not around.

I understand it's an unbelievable claim for anyone who knows nothing about dowsing.

Have you ever tried to dowse ?

Yes, actually. Using the pendulum similar to the video that was posted earlier, I was curious about the ideomotor effect. I've also played with a Ouija board.

I know a lot about dowsing, so I reject that claim.

I've noticed that you've done experiments to confirm your belief in dowsing, stayed away from any that would disprove it, and then asserted that your belief is enough. You shouldn't expect anyone to accept that, yourself included.

Some very patient people have walked you through some experiments you could try if you're willing to accept the possibility that your dowsing gift is simply a mind trick and of no practical use. I suspect you won't go down that path, though. Not only is the ideomotor effect a powerful force, but now you're speaking the language of the chosen: you have a gift you say. You can save people. Heck, you're better than other dowsers. People- when they reach that point- refuse to give up their gris gris because they think it makes them special and the possibility that they've tricked themselves and (therefore) are just ordinary is too much for them to handle.

That's why there's a group of people that refer to themselves as skeptics: they think that science and reason are more important. The real world is much more fascinating. Close your mind to that, and you're doing yourself a disservice.

You seem like a nice person. Please reconsider your position.

 

[tsig]

I know it's not rational, dowsing is not rational, that's why I'm trying so desperately to understand what's going on.

You have been chosen by the Sentinels as a contact point, dowsing is but a start to your destiny as the Autarch of the Age.

 

[SaskMick]

Yes, actually. Using the pendulum similar to the video that was posted earlier, I was curious about the ideomotor effect. I've also played with a Ouija board.

I know a lot about dowsing, so I reject that claim.

I've noticed that you've done experiments to confirm your belief in dowsing, stayed away from any that would disprove it, and then asserted that your belief is enough. You shouldn't expect anyone to accept that, yourself included.

Some very patient people have walked you through some experiments you could try if you're willing to accept the possibility that your dowsing gift is simply a mind trick and of no practical use. I suspect you won't go down that path, though. Not only is the ideomotor effect a powerful force, but now you're speaking the language of the chosen: you have a gift you say. You can save people. Heck, you're better than other dowsers. People- when they reach that point- refuse to give up their gris gris because they think it makes them special and the possibility that they've tricked themselves and (therefore) are just ordinary is too much for them to handle.

That's why there's a group of people that refer to themselves as skeptics: they think that science and reason are more important. The real world is much more fascinating. Close your mind to that, and you're doing yourself a disservice.

You seem like a nice person. Please reconsider your position.

The forked stick does not work for me at all, the pendulum, well I would not trust it. Coat hanger wire does it for me every time. Try it.

I have done experiments to see if it really works OR NOT. It could have gone either way.

I will say again that I feel confident that 50% of the people here can dowse. If only they would try.

 

[Giordano]

I've thought of all those things and more. And yes it's unbelievable to a non dowser.

I would guess that 50% of everyone here can dowse at a basic level at least. That is walk up and down and find water.

Try it !

And yet, with over 3 billion people on this earth able to dowse, and 100 s of thousands of years to discover how to do it, we nonetheless still spend huge amounts of money and effort to locate where to dig wells, to prospect for ore and gems, and to locate oil. We still lose things. Why don't we all use professional dowsers in the yellow pages to find lost car keys or stolen objects if one can detect stuff at a distance?

With all that is riding on it, if dowsing worked we would be doing it all the time. Like telephone use. There would be an industry devoted to it.

 

[SaskMick]

And yet, with over 3 billion people on this earth able to dowse, and 100 s of thousands of years to discover how to do it, we nonetheless still spend huge amounts of money and effort to locate where to dig wells, to prospect for ore and gems, and to locate oil. We still lose things. Why don't we all use professional dowsers in the yellow pages to find lost car keys or stolen objects if one can detect stuff at a distance?

With all that is riding on it, if dowsing worked we would be doing it all the time. Like telephone use. There would be an industry devoted to it.

Try it. You have nothing to lose apart from your skepticism

 

[Drs_Res]

Tried it myself, and I can dowse too. But it only works 100 percent when I know where the item is before hand. Otherwise I get the hits that random chance say I should, in some instances I do worse than chance says I should.

I can do it without the rods if I can lightly hold onto the wrist of the person who hid the item. Used to do that in magic shows I did way back when. 100% hit rate.

 

[Totovader]

The forked stick does not work for me at all, the pendulum, well I would not trust it. Coat hanger wire does it for me every time. Try it.

I have done experiments to see if it really works OR NOT. It could have gone either way.

I will say again that I feel confident that 50% of the people here can dowse. If only they would try.

Where does that confidence come from?

Consider the claim you just made. You think that 50% of the population, with nothing but the aid of a coat hanger can find anything?

Your claims aren't getting more specific, they're getting more grandiose. No more lost children, no more sunken treasure, no more people running from the police, no more hiding drugs, no more secure bank runs, no more secure anything. The list is infinite. You have replicated all of magic with a coat hanger. Alarm bells are ringing, my friend.

By what mechanism? You can't explain it- nor do you want to know. But consider the claim for just a moment. Consider how dangerous it is to believe that if you're wrong.

 

[SaskMick]

I can do it without the rods if I can lightly hold onto the wrist of the person who hid the item. Used to do that in magic shows I did way back when. 100% hit rate.

Please explain how that works.

 

[marplots]

No I was not lying. I doubted the truth of dowsing, that is no longer the case.

However I am still skeptical about other things, I am skeptical the Bigfoot exists and will remain so until I have knowledge to the contrary.

We ought to be able to settle the bigfoot question. Dowse for him.

 

[Blue Mountain]

I know it's not rational, dowsing is not rational, that's why I'm trying so desperately to understand what's going on.

Your actions here show you are not trying to find out what is going on. So far you have steadfastly refused to do the simple blinded test that would show that you can (or cannot) dowse successfully.

I remind you of my earlier post of how failure to do such tests has lead to many unfortunate deaths in Iraq, Mexico, and Thailand.

 

[SaskMick]

Where does that confidence come from?

Consider the claim you just made. You think that 50% of the population, with nothing but the aid of a coat hanger can find anything?

No, I think that 50% can find water that they did not know was there beforehand. I think that some of those people may also be able to do much more.

Your claims aren't getting more specific, they're getting more grandiose. No more lost children, no more sunken treasure, no more people running from the police, no more hiding drugs, no more secure bank runs, no more secure anything. The list is infinite. You have replicated all of magic with a coat hanger. Alarm bells are ringing, my friend.

I have not claimed to be able to find lost children etc . All I claim is that I have been able to find everything that I have looked for so far. Please bear in mind that I am still new to dowsing.

By what mechanism? You can't explain it- nor do you want to know. But consider the claim for just a moment. Consider how dangerous it is to believe that if you're wrong.

I can't explain it, and yes I do want to know. I don't think I'm the only person who has been perplexed.


"I know very well that many scientists consider dowsing as they do astrology, as a type of ancient superstition. According to my conviction this is, however, unjustified. The dowsing rod is a simple instrument which shows the reaction of the human nervous system to certain factors which are unknown to us at this time." Albert Einstein

The only way anyone will ever have a chance to understand is by keeping an open mind.

Your mind is welded shut. Just like the religious you are a true believer.