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For the English iconoclast, see William Dowsing. William Dowsing (1596 - 1668 was an English iconoclast who operated at the time of the English Civil War.
A dowser, from an 18th century French book about superstitions.
A dowser, from an 18th century French book about superstitions.

Dowsing, sometimes called divining or water witching, is the practice which dowsers say permits them to detect hidden or buried water, metals, gemstones, or other such objects without the use of scientific apparatus. A Y- or L-shaped twig or rod is used during dowsing, but some dowsers use other equipment or no equipment at all.

Dowsing is widely practiced[1] despite a lack of scientific evidence for its efficacy. [2]

Contents

History of dowsing

Dowsing has existed in various forms for thousands of years. [3] The original may have been for divination purposes — to divine the will of the gods, to foretell the future and divine guilt in trials. Divination (from Latin divinare "to be inspired by a god" related to Divine, Diva and Deus) is the attempt of ascertaining

Dowsing as practiced today probably originated in Germany during the 15th century, when it was used to find metals. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The M acro E xpansion T emplate A ttribute L anguage complements TAL, providing macros which allow the reuse of code across The technique spread to England with German miners who came to England to work in the coal mines. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body Coal mining is the extraction or removal of Coal from the Earth by Mining. During the Middle Ages dowsing was associated with the Devil. The Devil is the In 1662 dowsing was declared to be "superstitious, or rather satanic" by a Jesuit, Gaspar Schott, though he later noted that he wasn't sure that the devil was always responsible for the movement of the rod. Satan, ( Standard Hebrew Satan'el, English accuser) is a term that originates from the Abrahamic faiths, being traditionally The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order Gaspar Schott ( 5 February 1608 - 22 May 1666) was a German scientist specializing in the fields of Physics, Mathematics [4] In 1701 the Inquisition stopped using the dowsing rod in trials. The term Inquisition can refer to any one of several institutions charged with trying and convicting heretics within the Roman Catholic Church and

In the late 1960s during the Vietnam War, some U.S. Marines have used dowsing to attempt to locate weapons and tunnels. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia [5] An extensive book on the history of dowsing was published by Christopher Bird in 1979 under the title of The Divining Hand. Christopher Bird ( May 11, 1928 - May 2, 1996) became a science journalist after serving in the U Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) James Randi’s 1982 book Flim-Flam! devotes 19 pages to comprehensive double-blind tests done in Italy which yielded chance results. James Randi (born August 7 1928 (stage name The Amazing Randi) is a stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of Paranormal

Dowsing equipment

Traditionally, the most common divining rod was a Y-shaped branch from a tree or bush. A divining rod (also known as dowsing rod) is an apparatus used in Dowsing. Some dowsers prefer branches from particular trees; hazel twigs in Europe and witch-hazel in the United States were commonly chosen. The hazels ( Corylus) are a genus of Deciduous Trees and large Shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere Witch-hazel ( Hamamelis) is a Genus of Flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, with two species in North America The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Some dowsers prefer the branches to be freshly cut.

Many dowsers today use a pair of simple L-shaped metal rods; some even use bent wire coat hangers. One rod is held in each hand, with the short part of the L held upright, and the long part pointing forward. Some dowsers claim best success with rods made of particular metals, such as brass. Brass is any Alloy of Copper and Zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties

Pendulums such as a crystal or a metal weight suspended on a chain are sometimes used in divination and dowsing, particularly in remote or "map dowsing". A pendulum is a mass that is attached to a pivot from which it can swing freely In one approach, the user first determines which direction (left-right, up-down) will indicate "yes" and which "no," before proceeding to ask the pendulum specific questions. In another form of divination, the pendulum is used with a pad or cloth that has "yes" and "no" written on it, and perhaps other words, written in a circle in the latter case. The person holding the pendulum aims to hold it as steadily as possible over the center. An interviewer may pose questions to the person holding the pendulum, and it swings by minute unconscious bodily movement in the direction of the answer. In the practice of radiesthesia, a pendulum is used for medical diagnosis. Radiesthesia is the Paranormal or parapsychological ability to detect "radiation" within the human body

Possible explanations

Both skeptics of dowsing and many of dowsing's supporters believe that dowsing apparatus have no special powers, but merely amplify small imperceptible movements of the hands arising from the expectations of the dowser. This psychological phenomenon is known as the ideomotor effect. The ideomotor effect is a Psychological phenomenon wherein a subject makes motions unconsciously As in reflexive responses to pain the body sometimes reacts reflexively Some supporters agree with this explanation, but maintain that the dowser has a subliminal sensitivity to the environment, perhaps via electroception, magnetoception, or telluric currents. Electroreception, sometimes written as electroception, is the biological ability to perceive Electrical impulses It is particularly common among aquatic creatures Magnetoception (or "magnetoreception" is the ability to detect changes in a Magnetic field to perceive direction or altitude and has even been postulated as a method A telluric current (from Latin tellūs, "earth" is an Electric current which moves underground or through the sea Other dowsers say their powers are paranormal. Paranormal is an Umbrella term used to describe unusual Phenomena or experiences that lack an obvious Scientific explanation

Evidence

In a scientific study in Munich 1987-1988 by Hans-Dieter Betz and other scientists, five hundred dowsers were initially tested for their "skill", and the experimenters selected the best 43 among them. Hans-Dieter Betz (born 1940 is an German experimental physicser and Emeritus professor These 43 were then tested in the following way. On the ground floor of a two-story barn, water was pumped through a pipe; before each test, this pipe was moved in a direction perpendicular to the water flow. On the upper floor, each dowser was asked to determine the position of the pipe. Over two years, the 43 dowsers performed 843 such tests. Of the 43 pre-selected and extensively tested candidates, at least 37 of them showed no dowsing ability. The results from the remaining 6 were said to be better than chance, resulting in the experimenters' conclusion that some dowsers "in particular tasks, showed an extraordinarily high rate of success, which can scarcely if at all be explained as due to chance . . . a real core of dowser-phenomena can be regarded as empirically proven"[6]

Five years after the Munich study was published, scientist Jim T. Enright contended that these results are merely consistent with statistical fluctuations and do not demonstrate any real ability. J T Enright was a Skeptic and professor of behavioral Physiology at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego [7] He noted that the best tester was on average 4 millimeters out of 10 meters closer to a mid-line guess, an advantage of 0. 0004%. The study's authors responded[8] but Enright remains unconvinced. [9]

More recently, a study[10] was undertaken in Kassel, Germany, under the direction of the Gesellschaft zur Wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung von Parawissenschaften (GWUP) [Society for the Scientific Investigation of the Parasciences]. Kassel (until 1926 officially Cassel) is a city situated along the Fulda River in northern Hessen, Germany, one of the two sources of the The three-day test of some 30 dowsers involved plastic pipes through which a large flow of water could be controlled and directed. The pipes were buried 50 centimeters under a level field. On the surface, the position of each pipe was marked with a colored stripe, so all the dowsers had to do was tell whether there was water running through the pipe. All the dowsers signed a statement agreeing this was a fair test of their abilities and that they expected a 100 percent success rate. However, the results were no better than what would have been expected by chance.

Some researchers have investigated possible physical or geophysical explanations for dowsing abilities. For example, Soviet geologists have made claims for the abilities of dowsers,[11] which are difficult to account for in terms of the reception of normal sensory cues. Some authors suggest that these abilities may be explained by postulating human sensitivity to small magnetic field gradient changes. [12][13][14]

One study concludes that dowsers "respond" to a 60 Hz electromagnetic field, but this response does not occur if the kidney area or head are shielded. [15]

A review of archaeological studies in Iowa suggests that dowsing is ineffective at finding unmarked human burials. [16]

List of well-known dowsers

Well-known dowsers (restricted to those with Wikipedia articles) include:

See also

References

  1. ^ As translated from a preface of the Kassel experiments, "roughly 10,000 active dowsers in Germany alone can generate a conservatively-estimated annual revenue of more than 100 million DM (US$50 million)". Karl Spiesberger (Spießberger also formerly known as Frater Eratus or Fra Eratus (his mystico-magical name whilst a member of and involvement with the Fraternitas Ludwig Straniak (1879-1951 was a German mysticist, Germanic revivalist and most notably a Pendulum Dowser. Gary John Fox (born December 23, 1943 in Picton, Ontario) is a former Politician in Ontario Canada. A Frank Glahn (born 1865 - 1941 was a German mysticist Germanic revivalist and most notably a Pendulum dowser J Francis Hitching is a British Author and Dowser. His books often focus on Paranormal phenomena Professor Hellmut Wolff (30th March 1906 - 22nd March 1986 was a German academic mystic Germanic revivalist and most notably a Pendulum Dowser. Thomas Charles Lethbridge (1901-1971 was a British Explorer, Archaeologist and psychic researcher. A divining rod (also known as dowsing rod) is an apparatus used in Dowsing. A long range locator is a device purported to be a type of Metal detector used to detect deposits of gold or similar precious materials most are said to operate on a principle Michel Moine ( March 8, 1920 in Airvault - January 15, 2005 in Buxerolles) was a French Journalist Reveal the Power of the Pendulum: Secrets of the Sidereal Pendulum A Complete Survey of Pendulum Dowsing (ISBN 0-572-01419-8 is a book by Karl Spiesberger. Karl Spiesberger (Spießberger also formerly known as Frater Eratus or Fra Eratus (his mystico-magical name whilst a member of and involvement with the Fraternitas Professor Cuthbert Calculus ( Professeur Tryphon Tournesol, literally Professor Tryphonius Sunflower or Tryphonius Litmus Paper) is a Fictional See Kassel references.
  2. ^ Enright, Jim T. (Jan/Feb 1999). The Failure of the Munich Experiments. 'Skeptical Inquirer'. Paul Kurtz. Retrieved on 2006-11-14. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1533 - Conquistadors from Spain under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro arrive in Cajamarca, Inca  “The researchers themselves concluded that the outcome unquestionably demonstrated successful dowsing abilities, but a thoughtful re-examination of the data indicates that such an interpretation can only be regarded as the result of wishful thinking. ”
  3. ^ "the earliest sign of its usage dates from a 4500-5000 year old grave inscription in Brittany. " Ramsus, Jansson (1999-01-27 (revised)). Dowsing: Science or Humbug?.
  4. ^ Michel Eugène Chevreul, De La Baguette Divinatoire du pendule dit explorateur at des table tournants au point de vue de l'histoire, de la critique, and de la méthode expérimentale, Paris, 1854. Michel Eugène Chevreul ( August 31, 1786 &ndash April 9, 1889) was a French Chemist whose work with Fatty acids "Le père Gaspard Schott (jés. ) considère l'usage de la baguette comme superstitieux ou plutôt diabolique, mais des renseignements qui lui furent donnés plus tard par des hommes qu'il considérait comme religieux et probe, lui firent dire dans une notation à ce passage, qu'il ne voudrait pas assurer que le demon fait toujours tourner la baguette. " (Physica Curiosa, 1662, lib. XII, cap. IV, pag. 1527). See facsimile on Google Books
  5. ^ FIX ME (could not access entire article) Claudia Sandlin (1989-11-30). Google Book Search is a tool from Google that searches the full text of books that Google scans OCRs, and stores in its digital database Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Events 1700 - Battle of Narva — A Swedish army of 8500 men under Charles XII defeats Divining Ways; Dowsers Use Ancient Art in Many Kinds of Searches. Washington Post.  “[Louis Matacia] worked as a Marine Corps analyst at Quantico during The Vietnam War teaching Marines how to dowse. . . ”
  6. ^ Wagner, H. , H. -D. Betz, and H. L. König, 1990. Schlußbericht 01 KB8602, Bundesministerium für Forschung und Technologie. As quoted by Enright in Skeptical Enquirer
  7. ^ Enright, J. T. 1995. Water dowsing: The Scheunen experiments. Naturwissenschaften 82: 360-369.
  8. ^ Betz, H. -D. , H. L. König, R. Kulzer, R. Trischler, and J. Wagner. 1996. Dowsing reviewed — the effect persists. Naturwissenschaften 83: 272-275.
  9. ^ Enright, J. T. 1996. Dowsers lost in a barn. Naturwissenschaften 83: 275-277.
  10. ^ GWUP-Psi-Tests 2004: Keine Million Dollar für PSI-Fähigkeiten (in German) and English version.
  11. ^ Williamson, T. New Scientist 81, 371 (1979)
  12. ^ Rocard, Y. La Recherche 12, 792 (1981)
  13. ^ Presti, D. & Pettgrew, J. Nature 285, 99 (1980)
  14. ^ Baker, R. Nature 301, 78 (1983)
  15. ^ Harvalik ZV (1978). "Anatomical localization of human detection of weak electromagnetic radiation: experiments with dowsers. ". Physiol Chem Phys 10 (6): 525-34.  
  16. ^ Whittaker, Grave Dowsing Reconsidered[1]
  17. ^ Tom Lethbridge's dowsing measurments

External links

Dowsing organizations

Skeptics

(2007)

The New England Skeptical Society (NESS is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting science and reason The Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) is a Non-profit Public broadcasting Television service with 354 member TV stations in the Scientific American Frontiers was an American Television program primarily focused on informing the public about new technologies and discoveries Ray Hyman (born June 23, 1928, Chelsea Massachusetts) is a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Oregon in Eugene Events 1095 - The Council of Clermont, called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar

Dictionary

dowsing

-noun

  1. The practice of seeking water or other substances (usually liquid) with the aid of a forked stick or similar pointing device, as believed by some practitioners to derive from supernatural power

-verb

  1. Present participle of dowse.
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