• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

Dowsing 4 gold

edge

Banned
Joined
Feb 14, 2004
Messages
5,436
Ok I am not getting answers in the MDC + my new thread was merged with the old thread that was moderated.
It is taking to long to actually talk in there and there are no new responses to my queries.
So I’ll put it in here since they think it is a phenomenon.

In My opinion I believe it’s not, I also believe it’s not an Ideomotor effect, at least not the way I dowse.

I believe it can be described in a scientific manner, “my theory on how it works”, which means all the negativity, or interferences needed to be eliminated in order to do as honest a double blind test that can be accomplished, so there are no excuses.

Then we will know for sure if it is something that warrants more study or left to the typical explanations.

Knowing all that I have learned over the years I have developed a protocol that in my mind does that and I would like your opinion on the fact that I have covered all or most of the aspects before I turn it in.

This is the cleanest test I have found which took several experiments and many similar tests.

I can answer any questions as to why I think this is explainable in respect to my theory.


The basis to my theory is this, since it is not magnetic in nature, “dowsing for gold using gold and silver in the end of a dowsing stick, “Y shaped willow stick”, then the explanation since it is attracted to all metals is, That we are feeling the dent in the magnetic field where metals are sitting, the smallest of singularities. An Interaction of all that is involved, through dowsing and the gravitational field, the person in the field the stick, the gold in the stick… and the energy from the person that powers the reaction which I believe is the electrical field we all have around us, call it what you like, I prefer the aura.

The one reason I am still pursuing this is I have been told over and over in here that, Physicists said, “they couldn’t measure the force”, I thought about that and if I couldn’t I would have to agree.

To be able to measure the reaction of the target and non target for the base lines would be great, the reason being if there is a sliver of iron in the ground or a nail or any metal on the smallest scale it will give a reading and it is difficult to tell a small hit from a large hit. However when searching in the field it is much easier to tell although mistakes are made there too.

I can, if you want, post a direct link to a previous experiment where I admit that, however my scores are to the positive side of the scale, that is really within the parameters of passing in the field test.




Here is the protocol:
Open and closed test consists of 10, 11.5 once coffee cans made of plastic.
Each can is to have approximately 10 ounces of filler or ballast.
That ballast can be corn, rice.
I will choose a spot in a park or at a house where I will set up a tri pod app. 5 feet tall somewhere in Ft-Lauderdale.

From there I will hang a scale on a short piece of twine and from it’s clip I will hang another short piece of twine to which my dowsing stick will be tied as in the SezMe test.link for visual: http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=2722435#post2722435
For the open test I will check the readings of the containers with all the ballast in place then once with the target assuring all the readings are the same empty or with target.
Targeted and empty containers in full view. Lids off.

Once I am satisfied we can proceed to the closed test.

1: All targets will pass across one spot, one at a time.

2: There will be 100 passes with the target showing up 10 time in all the passes, once every ten sets of passes.

4: Let me put it another way each set of ten will have the target show up once there will be ten sets of ten containers.

5: As before you will want me to get at least 8 of ten correct, picking out the target each time they are present, this will mean also that I have to get 90 correct hits on the empty
containers with out the target present, that in it's self is an extraordinary accomplishment.

EHocking says, above in number 5 all I need is 7 out of 10 to match the odds. Number 6 he says:

6: You could reduce both setup and trial time as well as material needed by testing for 1 sample in 5 containers.
Admittedly, you'd have to get 10 from 10 for a 10 pass trial to beat 1:1Million odds, but has JREF determined that these MUST be the odds you need to beat for the preliminary?
This means the target will be changed every tenth time or every fifth time in ten total sets for each.

7: One of your people hangs with me one of mine hangs with you.

8: Anything else you want to do to insure I don’t see or hear is up to you.

9: You can also cover the containers with a box also made of cardboard or plastic on the X spot.

10: The target can be any kind of metal, gold, iron, nickel, silver, as long as it is metal.
I might even use mercury if you aren’t scared since mercury covered gold is mined where I was dredging.
Target will be in it’s own container placed in the can with the ballast and when on the X spot it all can be covered with a small cardboard box, triple wrapped so to say.

11: I might use silver or a regular dime or gold in the end of the dowsing stick.

12: You can use cards or dice to get the number 1 through10 for placement of targets in which container that coincides with that number or 1 through 5.

13: You can send the cans through in any order of each set, either 1through 5 or 1 through 10 set.

14: the JREF team with one of my members will pick a card or roll a dice to get the number of the can that will hold the target then they will place the cans on the spot one at a time and
each time I will come out to the x spot and say yes or no.

15: to win the million I must repeat the closed test one more time if I understand this correctly.

Did I leave any thing out is it understandable.
 
A few questions to clarify the protocol:

How will the containers be moved underneath this apparatus? Would placing them in a wagon or cart or on a small platform pulled along a rail work?

How long will each container have to be stationary underneath the dowsing tripod?

And you mention the containers being covered. After the "open" test is concluded, would it be acceptable for each container to be placed randomly into identical cardboard boxes in a location where you cannot see them? (I am assuming someone you bring with you can oversee that, but not then be present when the boxes are shown to you).
 
A few questions to clarify the protocol:

How will the containers be moved underneath this apparatus? Would placing them in a wagon or cart or on a small platform pulled along a rail work?

How long will each container have to be stationary underneath the dowsing tripod?

And you mention the containers being covered. After the "open" test is concluded, would it be acceptable for each container to be placed randomly into identical cardboard boxes in a location where you cannot see them? (I am assuming someone you bring with you can oversee that, but not then be present when the boxes are shown to you).

They will be brought to the X- spot one at a time and only one box is needed to be placed on the X spot.
It is just an extra cover so I can't tell what number container is placed since they all are numbered 1to 10 and the target is actually in another plastic container that is numbered one through ten, the target is in another container inside that plastic container.

They will have all the containers out of my view I won't see any of them in the closed test only the open.

SezMe had one box on the x-spot of course we didn't have a container for the tray; my next target will be smaller in it’s container that goes into the coffee container that is then placed under the box container on the X-spot.


A rail woul be steel and I would feel that.
 
How long will each container have to be stationary underneath the dowsing tripod?


Well that varies at the most about a minute, if I remember correctly.
About two minutes to switch them. Say about four minutes to get to the next container on the X spot, so about 40 minutes x 10 sets about 400 minutes or so to do the closed test.
We could say about six hours to do the closed test.
 
Well that varies at the most about a minute, if I remember correctly.
About two minutes to switch them. Say about four minutes to get to the next container on the X spot, so about 40 minutes x 10 sets about 400 minutes or so to do the closed test.
We could say about six hours to do the closed test.

Plus a half hour to hour for the open test.

And the above might be a bit optimistic, once randomizing the containers for each trial, taking them into/out of cover, and assuming human needs for bathroom and food/water breaks are taken into account.

It looks to be running long.
 
Why is it extraordinary to pick empty containers? Most of them are empty so this doesn't seem hard. Also, this somehow involves singularities?

You also have used "coulds" and "mights", I would eliminate these and be much more exact in your protocol. The word "approximately" does not help either. Settle on cards or dice now and write it up that way. In fact anywhere you use and "or"; eliminate it and use exactly what will do the best for you, no decisions should be made after the protocol is accepted. Do you really need 100 passes, a prelim test should not need that many.
 
I assume you have tried this protocol exactly as specified, complete with neutral helpers/observers? How did you do?
 
I assume you have tried this protocol exactly as specified, complete with neutral helpers/observers? How did you do?
If I were him, I'd try both friendly (family and friends), neutral (strangers) and "hostile" (sceptics).
 
Ok I am not getting answers in the MDC + my new thread was merged with the old thread that was moderated.
It is taking to long to actually talk in there and there are no new responses to my queries.
Okay, but remember, this is not the forum to talk about the MDC. If you're talking in general terms about a test for dowsing, I'm inclined to let it stay here. If you're just moving it here to discuss the MDC without moderation, then it won't work.

So please, folks, nothing here about the MDC.
Replying to this modbox in thread will be off topic  Posted By: Tricky
 
I assume you have tried this protocol exactly as specified, complete with neutral helpers/observers? How did you do?

Why is it extraordinary to pick empty containers? Most of them are empty so this doesn't seem hard. Also, this somehow involves singularities?
Yes we did and it was done two times as we perfected it.
First time I got 5 out of ten then 7 out of ten exactly as I have it above.
SezMes' test was done a little different because of time constraints for him since he was on vacation.

But in general the ground where he was, Coffee Creek had a better neutral spot, for instance with out the target I was reading about a gram, at my house it was an ounce.
I will run the test several more times here in Florida to see for sure.


The longer I have to dowse the more difficult it becomes.

So yes the shorter the test the better, I get more sensitive and it drains my energy at the same time.
All I know is it’s electrical in nature and it’s like when you get hit with voltage only a slower draining on the body, it builds up after a while.

I have been hit by high voltage several times and been struck by residual lightning on three occasions, it will drain you this is how I recognize the effect or compare it to that experience.

If Tricky will come in here and explain magnetic black sands where they come from and where they are located then that should help too. I have asked him to see if he knows.

Black sands that are magnetized are iron and they are everywhere.
Regular terrestrial black sands are not magnetized and they aren't everywhere, so I wouldn't want to do a test in the iron ore fields up north, Minnesota, Michigan.

When mining, blacks are found with the other metals the blacks are heavy too along with anything else metal that's usally found when placer mining.
 
Okay, Edge, I said I would answer you if you took this outside the MDC thread, and I will.

Magnetic Black Sands

There are not many ferromagnetic minerals. Even many iron ores are not a form of iron that will be attracted by a magnet. One of the few exceptions is magnetite, a very dense, very black mineral which often has magnetic properties. Depending on where it is formed, it may even be a "lodestone" or "natural magnet". But even magnetite which is not magnetically polarized is likely to be attracted by a magnet. (Note: There are numerous other black or very dark minerals which are not ferromagnetic, but they also tend to be much less dense than magnetite or other iron ores.)

Like any other mineral, it weathers out of the natural rock and may be deposited as sands. Because magnetite is so much more dense than more common minerals like quartzes and feldapars, it tends to be separated from them. Other heavy minerals do this too, so it is not uncommon to find in deposited sediment beds, the heavier minerals occurring together or nearby. Magnetites and hematites are formed by processes, such as high pressure/temperature fluids and solution/deposition via those fluids. These processes, very common in metamorphic provinces, are similar but not identical to the processes that deposit other metallic substances, such as gold, silver and copper. They are often called "mineral districts" on geology maps because they contain so many different kinds of mineral deposits.

So because their origins and depositional properties are similar, it is not surprising that gold and dense sands of magnetite or hematite are often found together. Because their densities are similar, it is difficult to separate them by panning, a method that is actually a gravity sorting process.

If you were looking for gold, then it would be very wise to look in places where such "black sand" exists, because it is known that places that trap this mineral also trap minerals of similar density. However, since heavy iron sands are likely to be much more abundant than gold, you may often find black sand where there is no gold. If dowsing actually worked and it actually worked by detecting dense elements, then black sand would indeed be a serious barrier to finding gold.
But that is the beauty of dowsing in a controlled environment. Any targets can be removed from minerals that might give a similar response. If you can find gold in the field, with all the distracting dense and/or metallic minerals around, finding gold in a bag of flour or even in a pile of sand on the beach ought to be an incredibly simple task. It should take almost no "energy" since it is (A) very close to the surface and (B) uncontaminated by metallic or extremely dense minerals.

However, few dowsers I have heard of make the claim that they are detecting density differences. Indeed, Edge has said that he can dowse for quartz, which is a relatively light mineral. He included a crystal of quartz in his original test for the MDC.

Okay, Edge. I've given you what I hope will be a satisfactory answer. I cannot see why it has a thing to do with your test, but since you have been hounding me to demonstrate that I know what "magnetic black sands" are, I figured I might as well take the time to show you that I'm not BS-ing you. I really am a geologist.
 
Last edited:
Before I'd ever heard of dowsing, I saw a guy dowzing for water with brass rods. I found it weird, but asked if I could try it. Indeed, the wands moved at a certain spot, although I had no horse in the race, and wasn't looking for anything, including verification or debunking. The oddest thing was that I couldn't hold the wands from moving at a certain spot. A friend arrived, also having never tried it; nor did he see the spot where they moved for me. They moved for him at the same place.

(Add woo background sounds now.)

The 'water-witch', as he called himself, explained that the spot was where two underground streams of water criss-crossed, indicating a good place to drill for a water well.

Too bad I never found out if they hit water there. But it was interesting how the rods moved, even blindfolded. Could be a fun 'experiment' to try at home...as more of a parlor trick than a science experiment, I guess. Don't color me woo, please, but if anyone wants to know more about how to hold the rods, or what we used, I'll explain.
 
Before I'd ever heard of dowsing, I saw a guy dowzing for water with brass rods. I found it weird, but asked if I could try it. Indeed, the wands moved at a certain spot, although I had no horse in the race, and wasn't looking for anything, including verification or debunking. The oddest thing was that I couldn't hold the wands from moving at a certain spot. A friend arrived, also having never tried it; nor did he see the spot where they moved for me. They moved for him at the same place.

(Add woo background sounds now.)

The 'water-witch', as he called himself, explained that the spot was where two underground streams of water criss-crossed, indicating a good place to drill for a water well.

Too bad I never found out if they hit water there. But it was interesting how the rods moved, even blindfolded. Could be a fun 'experiment' to try at home...as more of a parlor trick than a science experiment, I guess. Don't color me woo, please, but if anyone wants to know more about how to hold the rods, or what we used, I'll explain.

My first thought is that there was a 'Clever Hans' effect from your (or other observers' ) reaction to your friend approaching the proper location.

Having *been* a dowser of sorts in the past, I know that that was critical to my ability to successfully locate objects. Once I was being observed only by people who did not know where the hidden object was hidden, my ability functionally vanished. Unless you have experienced the ideomotor effect yourself, it's hard to believe how it feels: You have absolutely no sense that you are in any way causing the motion, in fact it feels like it happens even if you are resisting it.

Just a quick sidebar comment, MK
 
The 'water-witch', as he called himself, explained that the spot was where two underground streams of water criss-crossed, indicating a good place to drill for a water well.
Though I can't say for sure what the reason for the response of the rods was, I can tell you this: Other than karst (limestone) topography, underground "streams" are excedingly rare. The few underground streams that exist are mostly in limestone caverns and they tend to be in areas where water is plentiful (since it is usually water that excavates the caverns). The vast majority of groundwater occurs in porous beds that are more-or-less tabular. The skill of finding water is to figure out where the most porous beds are that lie below the water table. And of course, if you drill far enough in almost any sedimentary basin in the world, you are almost certain to find water, though it may not be potable, usually because of brine.

So either your dowser acquaintance was dumbing it down for you (which I doubt, because there are much better ways to explain it) or he doesn't know squat about subsurface hydrology.
 
It was in karst country, but I'm not defending it, or him.
There are sinking creeks in many areas, though I doubt its hard to know where they are.

I've lived in 3 seperate areas that have all manner of underground streams:
Northern Florida; the Ozark Plateau (Big springs area), and where I live now, also an elevated limestone zone with lots of caves.
 
It was in karst country, but I'm not defending it, or him.
There are sinking creeks in many areas, though I doubt its hard to know where they are.

I've lived in 3 separate areas that have all manner of underground streams:
Northern Florida; the Ozark Plateau (Big springs area), and where I live now, also an elevated limestone zone with lots of caves.
Well, if it was in karst country, then he probably didn't need to dowse for water very much. They tend to be (with exceptions) areas where there is plenty of surface water. Not much need to drill wells.

But even in karst areas, the concept of "underground streams" is a bit different from what you think of when you think of rivers and creeks and such. Although the limestone areas may have large holes and caverns and such, water still tends to flow all over the place within the beds. Unless it is a good-sized cavern, it can be hard to determine what is a "stream" and what is just water flowing through all the holes in the rock.

Conventionally, a "stream" connotes a layer of water with a layer of air over it. This does happen in caves and large karst passages. However, if it is below the water table, then water is flowing in all passages through the rock, and with no air layer over it. It is not at all like in a river bed where it is confined to a few channels. Think of it less like a stream and more like having water drip on the top of a sponge and having it drip out the bottom side. Sure, some holes are bigger than others, but the whole sponge gets wet. Now think of a wide, flat sponge many square miles in area. That is more of an accurate picture of what water-bearing strata are like.
 
The areas I've explored with many first magnitude springs have underground streams and rivers that you can take a boat in, in some cases, often for miles. Others have been explored by divers for miles. The areas adjacent to these flows are impoverished for water.
These streams are often visable from sinkholes and cinotes, and follow predictable, well worn routes.

But i digress. It has nothing to do with the well digger and his woo.
 
But it did get me thinking on a simple test that could be done, for fun, and to discover subtle effects such as clever hans and confirmation bias, in regards to dowsing.
Volunteers would walk the same path, holding the same magic wands, noting if and where they move, without prior knowledge of preceeding participants.

Its easy to see how the set up of such an experiment might flavor the results: The volunteers might be told that there is a vein of a rare mineral in the area; they could be blindfolded; it could be done with people that hadn't rejected water-witching; with all skeptics; shinier rods; rusty rods, etc.

anyway, it doesn't hurt to walk across your yard holding a magic indicator. its not as creepy as a ouija board because you don't have to drag any one else into it.
If the rods swing inward suddenly, mark the spot.
Then have your husband try it, but don't mention the spot, or your doubts, hopes, or anything. Don't even watch. Have him mark a spot, if they cross. Have no agenda.

After months of this scrutiny, nothing will be resolved. Even if everyone finds the same spot. Or no one finds any spot. or if everyone finds a different spot. Woo or science will both proclaim victory from the data.
 
Meteors asteroids and comets also produce magnetic black sands and spread them all over the planet.
This is the interference in most cases.

I have watched the cable guys find lost cable for TV using the L rods and it worked when the markers were missing, I don't use them. It's hard to keep perfectly level.
They had a metal detector that would fail them for lack of sensing deeper than a few feet, they were limited and the L rods weren't. The only thing they knew was, it was coming in from the street somewhere in front of the houses, and this would be new construction.

quarky say:
The oddest thing was that I couldn't hold the wands from moving at a certain spot.

That happens with the willow stick too, you cannot stop the reaction unless you let go of one end.
 
7: One of your people hangs with me one of mine hangs with you.

Yeh...... not so much.

If you mean "one of my friends watches where you put the metal, and I have some form of contact with them before/during my search" then...... no.
 

Back
Top Bottom