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Dowsing by a Skeptic

Dogs aren't psychic, they've just got good ears.
Of course, it's possible that dogs are actually psychic and only claim that they've got good ears so that they can avoid winning a million dollars, because who would want that?

We used to live out in the middle of no damn where. Our dog would start barking and throwing a fit about ten minutes before my dad would drive up in his car. One Saturday, My dad and I were up on the roof fixing the TV antenna. Mom had gone to town to do some shopping. The dog started barking and throwing a fit, and up on the roof, my dad and I could hear a car on the highway a good ways off. The cars sounds got closer, and it was mom coming home. The dog could just hear the car from further away than we could. Being up on the roof gave us enough of an advantage that we could hear the car about when the dog did.
And maybe standing on the roof makes humans psychic. We need to test this with as broad a variety of humans, roofing materials, and cars as possible!
 
I am sorry to have to inform you that you are hopelessly, terminally naive.

This seems like an appropriate moment to ask if you would perhaps be interested in purchasing a bridge in New York. I can sell it to you cheap. Small, used bills only. You can recoup your investment simply by placing toll booths on all the lanes and charging people for the privelege of using your bridge. If the police bother you, simply show them this bill of sale I've given you with someone else's name on it.
Do you mean the Brooklyn Bridge? Fortunately it has no toll booths now, so it should be easy to put new ones in. Gosh darn, that is a big bridge, thanks!

Do you mind if I pay you from an account I have in Nigeria? The actual check might be for more than you charge for the bridge, so just give me the difference in cash, no problem.
 
Am I naive to hope that SaskMick is spending his time away from the JREF by doing a double blinded, controlled test of his dowsing as suggested here? If so, I hope he returns to report his results whether or not they proved his theory.

Well, a fairly likely reason for his absence might be that he has in fact tried one of the simple blinded tests suggested and is now trying to figure out why he seems to have lost the ability to dowse.

I also hope he comes back to report his results. Nobody likes to admit they were wrong, but I think everyone here would be encouraged to hear that he now knows that dowsing really doesn't work without foreknowledge or subliminal hints.
 
Not really, I don't know enough dowsers to know what they think in general. The only dowser I know with any length of experience does have a specialty, he specializes in medical dowsing. He works for a doctor who is also a dowser by verifying his diagnosis. He has been particularly helpful to me.


Here is the absolute proof that a belief in nonsense like dowsing can be seriously dangerous. Have already mentioned earlier in the thread the fake explosives detectors. This is just as mad. Has anyone identified where Saskmick lives? Can we try to track down who this Doctor is? Or is it just more bs made up to try to shore up the discredited bs? I do hope so!

Brings to mind the mad Egyptians promoting a version of the swivelling radio aerial to 'diagnose' Hepatitis and HIV (see C-Fast).
 
Has anyone identified where Saskmick lives? Can we try to track down who this Doctor is? Or is it just more bs made up to try to shore up the discredited bs? I do hope so!

I did a quick search in Google using saskatchewan dowsing doctor or medicine, and did not get a clear hit (perhaps I should have dowsed it instead?). Of course, this assumes that SaskMick's posts are all accurate. There are clearly inconstancies in my view, so who knows?
 
Here is the absolute proof that a belief in nonsense like dowsing can be seriously dangerous. Have already mentioned earlier in the thread the fake explosives detectors. This is just as mad. Has anyone identified where Saskmick lives? Can we try to track down who this Doctor is? Or is it just more bs made up to try to shore up the discredited bs? I do hope so!

Brings to mind the mad Egyptians promoting a version of the swivelling radio aerial to 'diagnose' Hepatitis and HIV (see C-Fast).

He has already stated he is a British ex-pat living in Saskatchwan back up thread.
 
I did a quick search in Google using saskatchewan dowsing doctor or medicine, and did not get a clear hit (perhaps I should have dowsed it instead?). Of course, this assumes that SaskMick's posts are all accurate. There are clearly inconstancies in my view, so who knows?
I searched for - saskatchewan doctor dowsing - and found one.
 
I did a quick search in Google using saskatchewan dowsing doctor or medicine, and did not get a clear hit (perhaps I should have dowsed it instead?). Of course, this assumes that SaskMick's posts are all accurate. There are clearly inconstancies in my view, so who knows?

It could be a coincidence, but the first poster in this thread shares a few similarities with SaskMick here. It won't help in tracking the medical dowser down, but at least he's apparently real.

http://forum.britishdowsers.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3718
 
I'll hazard a guess that the "dowsing doctor" is a chiropractor, not an MD. (quackfiles)

"More than 43% report giving homeopathic remedies. And significant numbers of chiropractors use pendulums (dowsing), and magnet therapy"
 
It could be a coincidence, but the first poster in this thread shares a few similarities with SaskMick here. It won't help in tracking the medical dowser down, but at least he's apparently real.

http://forum.britishdowsers.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3718

This leaves a really sick feeling in my stomach because he's obviously going to sources to confirm his special powers. I don't know if he came here to challenge his special powers- but I am skeptical.

An old debate, I know, but: are we here to help, or are we here to mock?
 
To go back to the beginning (and apologies if this has been addressed, I did scan through the thread but may have missed it).

First you say you only recently had a convincing demonstration of dowsing:

Until recently I considered dowsing to be complete and utter BS.


Please let me explain. I am getting a new house built on an acreage where the previous house burnt down. I have had to get quotes from various contractors one of whom was a plumber. He asked me to show him the well, and we walked down the hill to where it was, He then proceeded to walk about with his dowsing rods which seemed to act as I had seen demonstrated before on TV.

I asked him if I could have a go. I walked towards the area and the rods crossed and remained crossed for five or six paces before swinging wide open. I asked him which direction the water came from, and as I asked him the rods swung to my right ! I was gobsmacked, and I think he was too. He quickly took the rods back again. I asked him what they were made of and he said that they were made of a special metal......

So, that is apparently recently, during the time that your house is being built, which is, from your wording, still taking place.

Then it seems you are an expert dowser yourself, finding water for others:

Just the other day I found a well for a couple of skeptics who were fed up with their piped in water. I found the well by asking the rods if there was water on the property, the rods indicated a yes. I said ok then show me where it is, and the rods pointed to my left. I walked in a straight line until they crossed with a very strong movement. I could see that they were doubtful and I did not blame them one bit.
I told them that the rods could find anything and asked if they had a mains gas supply, they did, I said ok I will show you where the pipe line runs, I found it easy. I asked about the mains water, but before I could stop him he had pointed to where the pipe ran. I asked the rods to show me the water pipe expecting them to point me to where he had pointed but they pointed in the opposite direction. I showed him exactly where it was. It was of course a test to see if I was full of it:D

And yes you are quite right my hands do indeed move, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

It get's much weirder yet.

Just exactly how long was there between those two points? Is your house still being built? How did you suddenly become an expert dowser yourself?
 
It seems pretty certain that Saskmick is "Mick" on the British Society of Dowsers forum. Check the main link for several threads begun by Mick.

In particular, one thread is very funny since Mick is inquiring about the notion of ideomotor effect, which he seems to have learned about here at JREF. It is dated June 10.

How does the ideomotor effect debunk dowsing ?


Their moderator/admin has a very succinct answer to the question:

Quote by Ian Pegler: ideomotor effect - a pseudoscientific term used by pseudoskeptics, the term predates the birth of any kind of modern science of the mind, even Freud for Pete's sake.
Saskmick seems to have found a new home.:)

Concerning the ideomotor effect and Pegler's response, Mick is finally being fed the information that sets him all a twitter:


Re: How does the ideomotor effect debunk dowsing ?


by Mick » Sun Jun 15, 2014 7:40 am
Got it. Thanks very much.

PS, I just needed it to rub someones nose in it a the JREF forum. You should check out that forum, it's great fun.
icon_lol.gif
Hopefully he'll be coming back to rub our noses in his newly found knowledge.

ETA: credit to uvar for finding the site with Mick's posts.
 
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Very interesting insights into the creation of a dowser. I cannot imagine Saskmick ever digging himself out of this mindset.

Re: How does the ideomotor effect debunk dowsing ?

by Lyndon Ronstadt » Tue Jun 10, 2014 9:29 pm
I remember a tv program on dowsing many decade ago in which dowsing rods where placed in the hands of celebrities. I remember an actress from Coronation Street - Amanda Barrie if memory serves - and the shock on her face when the rods reacted strongly in her hands. From that day I never doubted that dowsing is a real phenomenon.

If science wants to debunk dowsing it has to account for latent, untrained ability.
Re: How does the ideomotor effect debunk dowsing ?

by Ian Pegler » Tue Jun 10, 2014 6:54 pm


Ray Hyman is a member of CSICOP an organsation that seeks to debunk the so-called "paranormal". He is entitled to his opinion (but I wouldn't give twopence for it).

Dowsers have known for a very long time (centuries!) that this kind of involuntary subconscious movement is untimately responsible for the movement of the rods. But really so what? It doesn't always respond in accordance with expectations, not if you're doing it right. The term "ideomotor effect" says nothing about the nature of consciousness or how the mind knows more than it should.
The only psychology textbooks in which you will find this term are those written by pseudoskeptics with an axe to grind against subjects like dowsing.

Ian
 
In particular, one thread is very funny since Mick is inquiring about the notion of ideomotor effect, which he seems to have learned about here at JREF. It is dated June 10.

How does the ideomotor effect debunk dowsing ?


Their moderator/admin has a very succinct answer to the question:

Quote by Ian Pegler: ideomotor effect - a pseudoscientific term used by pseudoskeptics, the term predates the birth of any kind of modern science of the mind, even Freud for Pete's sake.


What a joke. :D Let's hope that "ex-skeptic" Saskmick comes back to try to defend this position. It should be fun. :)
 
What a joke. :D Let's hope that "ex-skeptic" Saskmick comes back to try to defend this position. It should be fun. :)

I sincerely hope he does too. He seemed to have a sense of humor. I wasn't entirely certain whether he was the real deal at first, a naive new dowser enthusiast, but the threads on other forums have me pretty well convinced he is actually newly hooked on dowsing. He has gotten a hero's welcome over there at the BSD, and he was taken seriously with immediate credibility.

I feel that the posters here who attempted to quickly inform him of everything JREF has learned about dowsers were also welcoming and accepting of Saskmick, but we were not willing to accord him the credibility he was demanding. The only reasonable route left for JREF is to offer him help in creating a protocol to try for the MDC.

It isn't often that we can actually witness someone in the process of falling into the woo.
 
The most interesting bit of this post is at the very end, where you can watch SaskMick's video of him dowsing. I can't watch it on the device I'm posting from, but I'm sure it's interesting somehow.

Just exactly how long was there between those two points? Is your house still being built? How did you suddenly become an expert dowser yourself?

That seems potentially consistent, really. It helps Mick is happy to give the 'other' forum plenty of details.
  • Many years ago: SaskMick first learns about dowsing, tries to dowse with no success (link)
  • Last Autumn (northern hemisphere): Mick buys the acreage with existing structure; shortly after, it burns down (link)
  • Mid-May: 'Day Zero'. Mick gets a plumber to visit for 'an estimate'. Mick takes the plumber to the well, the plumber looks at/in the well, and then uses his dowsing rods. The plumber claims the well is a good source with plenty of water. Mick asks to try and gets an instant result matching the plumber's. Mick discovers he can ask questions out loud to get answers from the rods. Mick asks the plumber about his rods, who lies and claims they are a special material (in fact, coat hanger wire) apparently out of annoyance at Mick's success. (previous link)
  • Mid-May: Mick investigates with his own coat hanger wire rods, successfully dowsing previously-marked gas and phone lines on the property. Mick repeats several times with some failures. Mick does experiments with his wife, who is unable to dowse. One experiment involves Mick holding the rods while his wife walks near three sources of water that Mick knows about; the rods respond when his wife reaches them. Mick does other tests that would be interesting if he had done them with more rigor and achieved the same results. Mick continues to experiment with 'surrogate dowsing' (dowsing based on someone else's position), at first with them holding a pendulum, but later deciding the pendulum is unnecessary. (previous link)
  • May 28: Mick joins the British Society of Dowsers forum.
  • May 29: Mick discovers one rod works as well as two rods.
  • May 31: "I'm now fairly sure it's the dowser that subconsciously makes the rods move". (link)
  • Very early June: Mick meets another dowser, and discovers dowsing has medical applications (Possibly the friend of the doctor) (link)
  • Very early June: Mick dowses another property for a well, and discovers the woman living there can dowse. Her husband later forbids Mick from contacting her about dowsing, and maybe contacting them at all. (see last link)
  • June 5: Another forum poster links to a youtube video of Randi on dowsing, to which Mick replies "I have seen that Randi video before. I would like to stick my dowsing rods right up his arse." (link)
  • June 8: Mick gets a (phone?) call from the president of the Holistic Intuition Society about using his youtube video* on their website, and a possible job dowsing underground for other clients (link)
  • June 10: Mick asks the BSD forum about the ideomotor effect, and is happy with their explanation of why dowsing still works regardless. Later in the thread (June 15), in an example of bad faith, Mick states "PS, I just needed it to rub someones nose in it a the JREF forum. You should check out that forum, it's great fun." (link)
  • No later than June 11: Mick joins the JREF forum, and then makes this thread.
  • June 14: Mick discovers another person (male this time) who can dowse as well as him. (link)
  • Before June 20: Mick discovers he can dowse better when moving than when stationary.

*Despite having enough posts to do so, Mick has not posted his video here (as far as I'm aware). However, he planned to earlier - "( I need 15 posts before I can post a video link )" - so I'm sure he won't mind if I do:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kocsJpsgl-A
 
The most interesting bit of this post is at the very end, where you can watch SaskMick's video of him dowsing. I can't watch it on the device I'm posting from, but I'm sure it's interesting somehow.



That seems potentially consistent, really. It helps Mick is happy to give the 'other' forum plenty of details.
  • Many years ago: SaskMick first learns about dowsing, tries to dowse with no success (link)
  • Last Autumn (northern hemisphere): Mick buys the acreage with existing structure; shortly after, it burns down (link)
  • Mid-May: 'Day Zero'. Mick gets a plumber to visit for 'an estimate'. Mick takes the plumber to the well, the plumber looks at/in the well, and then uses his dowsing rods. The plumber claims the well is a good source with plenty of water. Mick asks to try and gets an instant result matching the plumber's. Mick discovers he can ask questions out loud to get answers from the rods. Mick asks the plumber about his rods, who lies and claims they are a special material (in fact, coat hanger wire) apparently out of annoyance at Mick's success. (previous link)
  • Mid-May: Mick investigates with his own coat hanger wire rods, successfully dowsing previously-marked gas and phone lines on the property. Mick repeats several times with some failures. Mick does experiments with his wife, who is unable to dowse. One experiment involves Mick holding the rods while his wife walks near three sources of water that Mick knows about; the rods respond when his wife reaches them. Mick does other tests that would be interesting if he had done them with more rigor and achieved the same results. Mick continues to experiment with 'surrogate dowsing' (dowsing based on someone else's position), at first with them holding a pendulum, but later deciding the pendulum is unnecessary. (previous link)
  • May 28: Mick joins the British Society of Dowsers forum.
  • May 29: Mick discovers one rod works as well as two rods.
  • May 31: "I'm now fairly sure it's the dowser that subconsciously makes the rods move". (link)
  • Very early June: Mick meets another dowser, and discovers dowsing has medical applications (Possibly the friend of the doctor) (link)
  • Very early June: Mick dowses another property for a well, and discovers the woman living there can dowse. Her husband later forbids Mick from contacting her about dowsing, and maybe contacting them at all. (see last link)
  • June 5: Another forum poster links to a youtube video of Randi on dowsing, to which Mick replies "I have seen that Randi video before. I would like to stick my dowsing rods right up his arse." (link)
  • June 8: Mick gets a (phone?) call from the president of the Holistic Intuition Society about using his youtube video* on their website, and a possible job dowsing underground for other clients (link)
  • June 10: Mick asks the BSD forum about the ideomotor effect, and is happy with their explanation of why dowsing still works regardless. Later in the thread (June 15), in an example of bad faith, Mick states "PS, I just needed it to rub someones nose in it a the JREF forum. You should check out that forum, it's great fun." (link)
  • No later than June 11: Mick joins the JREF forum, and then makes this thread.
  • June 14: Mick discovers another person (male this time) who can dowse as well as him. (link)
  • Before June 20: Mick discovers he can dowse better when moving than when stationary.

*Despite having enough posts to do so, Mick has not posted his video here (as far as I'm aware). However, he planned to earlier - "( I need 15 posts before I can post a video link )" - so I'm sure he won't mind if I do:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kocsJpsgl-A


Excellent detective work. :)

Let's see if this poster comes back to attempt to defend his statements.
 
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