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CONNIE SONNE, Dowser

Well, okay, what you saw suggested to you that Connie has no paranormal abilities. But, what I am saying is that what you saw should not have suggested that Connie has no paranormal abilities but that, if she does have the paranormal ability being tested for, she did not demonstrate this ability on this occasion and under these circumstances.

Sorry, but this is just silly. All prior evidence says that no-one has ever had any paranormal ability, and that nothing paranormal has ever been shown to exist. Sure, in theory we can't be 100% sure that the paranormal does not exist, but in practice you would be a fool not to act as if it were certain. The burden of proof lies squarely on the claimant. Until Connie can prove that without doubt she does have paranormal abilities, she does not have those abilities. Absence of evidence is evidence of absence. Certainly not absolute proof of absence, but with the only evidence saying that there is nothing there it is just silly to keep assuming that there might be.

The evidence that Connie has magic powers is exactly as strong as the evidence that I have a pet Tyrannosaurus Rex in my flat. It's not just that there's evidence to suggest it's the case, it's also that it's not physically possibly to fit one in there. Pointless semantics about absolute certainty are, in fact, pointless. Given probabilities that would run out of electrons before you run out of zeros, there's really no point in worrying about the fact that there's a "1" at the end somewhere.

Connie Sonne does not have paranormal abilities. End of story. Until she demonstrates otherwise, there's absolutely no point in saying anything else.
 
I think I need a translation. :D

You should have seen it before I edited it!

It was demonstrated that it was wrong for Connie to think that she was receiving paranormal information through her use of the pendulum on this occasion. And we can tell that this situation was similar to those situations which led her to think she could receive information this way, because she accused Banachek of cheating rather than stating that the paranormal information was absent. If her reason for thinking that she has paranormal abilities has been shown to be false, then it may be true that we haven't proven that she doesn't have paranormal abilities, but we have proven that she has no more reason to think that she does than you or me.

Linda
 
If Connie was so confident of her claimed ability - as a result of the apparently successful application of her claimed ability on numermous occasions in the past over many years - that she applied for the MDC, it would be unreasonable to expect her to immediately deny her claimed ability as the result of a single failure. After all, the result of every scientific experiment must be verified by repeated experiments before it is accepted as valid.

Fair point I suppose, especially as she claims her success or lack thereof is dependent on whether the 'entity' that is working 'through her' decides to enable her to do it.

However, before the test she was insistent she could and would do it (other than that time when she threw in the caveat I just mentioned) and did not feel a need to experiment herself under guidance (to ensure no opportunity for the ideomotor effect). Now she's failed the test she has good reason, should she choose to see it that way, to wonder if she really does have the powers she seems to believe she has and take some tests herself in private to learn.

Having said that, she may forever be able to convince herself that whatever this 'entity' is would always refuse to empower her under test conditions!
 
Fair point I suppose, especially as she claims her success or lack thereof is dependent on whether the 'entity' that is working 'through her' decides to enable her to do it.

But don't you think that in this case she thinks that the entity was working through her? Otherwise, why would it occur to her to accuse Banachek of cheating?

Linda
 
If Connie was so confident of her claimed ability - as a result of the apparently successful application of her claimed ability on numermous occasions in the past over many years - that she applied for the MDC, it would be unreasonable to expect her to immediately deny her claimed ability as the result of a single failure. After all, the result of every scientific experiment must be verified by repeated experiments before it is accepted as valid.

I might expect her to reconsider her supposed abilities, based on an objective test. At the very least I'd expect her to admit that the test was objective and fair, and the failure was hers.

If she had passed, would you have taken it as proof positive that she has paranormal powers? Do you think she would have, even if she couldn't repeat the demonstration?
 
But don't you think that in this case she thinks that the entity was working through her? Otherwise, why would it occur to her to accuse Banachek of cheating?

Linda

According to some who were at the press conference immediately following the test, apparently she said something along the lines that this entity had decided it wasn't the right time for the world to be shown.

It was a day or so later that she made the accusation in this thread that she'd been cheated. I suspect she wouldn't be meticulous enough in her reasoning to decide if it's an either/or situation or whether both apply! The one thing she doesn't appear to be considering is the possibility she failed because she doesn't have these powers!
 
I can't say this was the greatest test to pick............... Dowsing is a learned skill. I would like to compare it with maybe throwing a free throw in basetball. The more you do it the better you get, same with Dowsing................

I would like to see the vidio of this event, if they made one.

I did find it odd that a missing kid got pulled into this. If your a Psychic or dowser and you find a missing person, you don't blow it off and make a voice recording. You go to the police and or press. That is credability for you and future clients......

Hope she tries again with a different test set-up. and losses the little helper spirit or what ever it is. She doesn't need it............
 
I can't say this was the greatest test to pick............... Dowsing is a learned skill. I would like to compare it with maybe throwing a free throw in basetball. The more you do it the better you get, same with Dowsing................

I would like to see the vidio of this event, if they made one.

I did find it odd that a missing kid got pulled into this. If your a Psychic or dowser and you find a missing person, you don't blow it off and make a voice recording. You go to the police and or press. That is credability for you and future clients......

Hope she tries again with a different test set-up. and losses the little helper spirit or what ever it is. She doesn't need it............

Well I think she needs all the help she can get.
 
I can't say this was the greatest test to pick............... Dowsing is a learned skill. I would like to compare it with maybe throwing a free throw in basetball. The more you do it the better you get, same with Dowsing

If you've learned to dowse, perhaps you should apply for the Challenge.
 
If you've learned to dowse, perhaps you should apply for the Challenge.

Thanks for the idea, but no desire to pursue this avenue of adventure. I have enjoyed reading these posts for a wile and will continue to do so. No desire to be the subject matter of these posts.
 
pathphinder, probably not a good idea to go for the challenge. I suggest however that the more reading you do in this sub forum the better. Then you can learn what is real vs what is fantasy.

Dousing is one of those things that have failed to show as anything other than a fantasy.
 
If I were pathphinder, I wouldn't care what anyone said about me in a forum. I'd be too busy counting my million dollars. Or I'd donate it to a charity, but no web forum would keep me from a million.

Just sayin',

Ward
 
If I were pathphinder, I wouldn't care what anyone said about me in a forum. I'd be too busy counting my million dollars. Or I'd donate it to a charity, but no web forum would keep me from a million.

Just sayin',

Ward

As Liberace once said "You know the bank I used to laugh all the way to? - I bought it!"

As anybody with genuine supernatural powers could.

Norm

Norm
 
I can't say this was the greatest test to pick............... Dowsing is a learned skill. I would like to compare it with maybe throwing a free throw in basetball. The more you do it the better you get, same with Dowsing................

Hold your horses! Dowsing and learned skill in the same sentence? When did this happen? Do you know of anyone who does dowsing properly? If so, let them know there's $1M waiting for them at the JREF once they prove their powers.

I would like to see the vidio of this event, if they made one.

I did find it odd that a missing kid got pulled into this. If your a Psychic or dowser and you find a missing person, you don't blow it off and make a voice recording. You go to the police and or press. That is credability for you and future clients......

That's not odd. She's got nothing and she knows it, that's why she didn't go to the police or the press.

Hope she tries again with a different test set-up. and losses the little helper spirit or what ever it is. She doesn't need it............

Of course she doesn't need it. It is a fantasy. What she needs is professional help. And you need to think about stuff. Good news is you've come to the right place. Welcome.

ETA: Juts realized you're registered since 2007. So the laste two sentences should read: Good news is you're at the right place. Continue to hang around.
 
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Thanks for the idea, but no desire to pursue this avenue of adventure.

It's not and adventure, it's serious money. And if you really think that dowsing can be learned, why not learn it and collect?

I have enjoyed reading these posts for a wile and will continue to do so. No desire to be the subject matter of these posts.

Well, in that case maybe you just shouldn't have said anything.
 
Dowsing is a learned skill.
Indeed. Like sight reading music, or touch typing, or any other skill in which the ideomotor effect plays a large part. Much practice is required.

However even the most practiced dowser is unable to achieve better than chance results when all the visible clues they are usually unconsciously processing are removed. That's how we know it's the ideomotor effect that's responsible for their previous successes, and not some paranormal power.
 
Connie Sonne

Fascinating read on this thread.
Pixel42, a neat summing up of the situation in your last post.
Still.
JREF's response is on the homepage of this site.
A reasonable and (to me) clear account of the test, from JREF's point of view.
Well worth reading.
I find the reported change in Connie Sonne's reactions from
1/ my entity says the world is not ready
to
2/ alleged cheating

really distracting. Again, I'm new here and obviously this ony a repeat of other failed claimants' reactions.
Are we certain the poster Connie Sonne, with those dodgy claims of EVP in the case of a missing child as well as accusations of 'cheating', is the same Connie Sonne who failed the preliminary test in Las Vegas?
 
This makes me sad. Does this always happen?

Not always; it only happens on those rare occasions that one of these deluded polesmokers actually makes it all the way to the test.

Most claimants do what Connie has been doing for the last year or so, talking smack about their abilities and telling us all how they're going to show us what a bunch of deluded polesmokers we are, when if they really had any abilities at all, they could arrange a test in a matter of a couple of weeks and take home their cash. Most of them aren't stupid enough to actually take a test; they're just pleased as punch to have a forum where people pay attention to them.

But anecdotally, all but one guy (some Philippino dude, I think) start bitching about how they got ripped off a day or two after the test is over, if not sooner. Even that deluded Philippino polesmoker started bitching eventually, if I remember correctly.
 
If she earns money from her abilities she does not have then her income will go down. There are lots of blogs that have commented about her in the last 24 hours. All of them say she failed. From now on anyone googling her name will find that she failed. It would not be hard to find this thread even though the searcher may not have heard of JREF before.

Oh sweet love-crappin' baby Jesus; that is sweet sweet sweet beyond sweet!
 
One of the things that bugs me is the perception that the JREF Challenge is in place to "debunk" any claims of paranormal powers. Actually, it's there to prove the claim! It's just that any possibility of cheating or unintentional bias must be eliminated on either the tester's or examiner's parts.

I try to think of it like the prize for achieving the first 100 mpg car, or a private rocket launch to space. They want it to be accomplished, as long as it's fair and square!
 

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