Ok, I understand your point now. Yeah that could very well be it, although the blindfold would only work if I hadn't used a specific board before and the layout was different than the one I was used to (otherwise I could do a fair approximation just based on memory). I still can't figure out a way to actually tell which part of my mind is actually producing the responses which is what I'm really interested in given the degree of confabulation that goes on.
I guess that my real point is that if skeptics want folks who believe in the ouija board and other ideomotor responses to understand what is really going on, a clearer explanation on how the responses can seem so real has to be addressed. I KNOW it's not paranormal and yet it is still very weird to me so someone prone to belief is going to find it that much more convincing.
I think understand what you're driving at. Let me take a stab at restating your point and giving a possible answer.
The typical explanation of the ideomotor is what we see in Wiki:
The ideomotor effect is a psychological phenomenon wherein a subject makes motions unconsciously. As in reflexive responses to pain, the body sometimes reacts reflexively to ideas alone without the person consciously deciding to take action
When it comes to dowsing for water, we tend to say that the person may be aware subconsciously that a certain spot is likely to have water (or consciously so, like in the "open" test before a controlled test), so their subconscious causes the movements that pinpoint the water. Some of us argue that in many parts of the country, it's hard to dig and
not find water. What you seem to be asking is, "Fine, but
why did the dowser pick that spot instead of some other?"
Similarly on a Ouija board, one might ask, "Will I be rich someday?" If they spell out "yes" then we simply conclude that most people want to be rich, so naturally they spell out yes. If I understand you correctly, you're saying, "Fine, what if they spell out 'pickle' or something else nonsensical? Why?"
I think the explanation is rather simple. We know the body can make these movements absent of conscious will. In the case of a Ouija board, our conscious knows where the letters are, so it only makes sense to move it to
some letter. Let's just say on the first move it goes to the letter P. Does there
need to be any other reason for it to be a P other than it's a letter? I don't think so. The subconscious "instruction" so to speak was to pick a letter. With the exception of a few letters, one is just as good as the next when it comes to forming words, which is the ultimate subconscious goal.
The subsequent letters could then be the subconscious picking a letter that might reasonably come next. With a P, a vowel is likely to come next as is an H, L, and R. Other letters like D and X don't make sense. So let's say you pick an I just because it makes sense subconsciously as a second letter. Again, follow the same basic logic of spelling words, only in this case a vowel is less likely but a C offers a good path leading to pic, pica, picante, Picasso, and so forth. Lather, rinse, repeat.
In the water dowsing scenario, there could be any number of factors triggering the movement. Maybe you're just tired or bored and want to be done. Maybe something attracts your attention subconciously. Maybe you just notice a slight movement from just walking around and your subconscious decides to run with it.
We make thousands of little movements all day long without conscious input or rational explanations. The only difference with the ideomotor effect is that we have visual feedback. That's why you only spell "pickle" on a board where you know where the letters are.
If you need a more in-depth explanation, I am available as a "life coach" for $100 per hour. I'm sure with a few dozen sessions we can get to the bottom of why you spell out certain things.
