[meteorite-list] You Naysaying Denialists Are All Wrong, Dowsing Works!

[Michael Fowler]

Phil,

I'm a bit confused.  If dowsing is so effective as you describe, why would anyone spend all that money on a metal detector?  A couple of bent coat hangers cost a lot less, not to mention the reduction in weight makes searching a meteorite strewnfield all day long much less tiring! 

I can't imagine anyone doing it any other way.  You've convinced me that all those non-dowsers are not only idiots, but masochists too! 

Mike Fowler

Chicago




> First off, let me say that all you naysaying dowser denialists need to get 
> off your high horses, come down from your ivory towers and enter the realm 
> of simple, reproducible, empirical evidence-based experimental scientific 
> methodology instead of parroting dogmatic drivel and appealing to the 
> authority of idiots. I don't think I've ever seen such a display of 
> psuedo-intellectual arrogance and phony elitism in my life. (Well, ok, once 
> or twice I have). I never thought I'd live to see the day a List member 
> would speak thusly of St. Albert, {1} and I quote C.P. : "His opinion should 
> not impress anybody". {2} As if the puny intellect of anyone here is but the 
> beginnings of a pimple on the left butt cheek of Albert Einstein. 
> 
> The dowser denialist nattering nabobs of negativity owe an apology to Warren 
> Sansoucie, (also known as Warren Peace), his dad, my dad, grandad and 
> greatgrandpa (three generations {3} of dowsers and damn proud of it), and to 
> all the nameless, faceless and voiceless dowsing utility workers and 
> plumbers everywhere. And a shout-out and word of thanks to that voice in the 
> wilderness counseling rationality and scientific method, Dr. Vann from the 
> prestigious University of Pennsylvania. 
> 
> Speaking of experimental scientific method, I would like to propose a 
> simple, reproducible experiment that can be performed by any genius, 
> near-genius, idiot or near-idiot. Now, before shooting off your mouth and 
> saying: " That Joshua Tree Museum guy knows not of what he speaketh!" please 
> take an hour or so and do this experiment. Trust me, you will be amazed. 
> 
> I will bet dollars to doughnuts that not a single one of the vociferous, 
> self-important dowser denialists has ever actually dowsed. Your ignorance is 
> revealed by your words. When I say dowsing, I'm not talking about that 
> flakey New Age, divinatory, radiesthesia, occult crap. I'm talking about an 
> objective, observable, factual phenomenon that anyone can see with their own 
> two eyes. (Unless they're doing it as an actual blind experiment and are 
> blind-folded.) 
> 
> Get yourself a pair of L-shaped divining rods. {4} Any kind of bendable 
> wire will work. I used the first thing I found laying around the shop and it 
> works perfectly. For purposes of balance, hold the longer part of the 
> L-shaped rod in your hands with the shorter part projecting forward, or 
> vice-versa, whatever works for you. The rods must be gripped properly for 
> this to work. They must be held loosely so they can move freely of their own 
> accord. If you grip them too tightly, the experiment won't work. 
> This is the traditional closed-fist grip: 
> http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x177/cyphor79/closed-fist.jpg 
> I came up with this one myself, I call it the claw-hammer: 
> http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x177/cyphor79/claw-hammer.jpg 
> 
> Hold the rods parallel to each other and parallel to the ground. Now for 
> the fun part: hold the rods over a large iron meteorite, {5}and watch them 
> cross all by themselves. Approach the meteorite from a different angle and 
> watch as the rods cross as if by magic. It's as simple as that. You may have 
> to get down close to the meteorite (depending on the type), for the rods to 
> cross. Campos, Sikhote-Alines, Diablos and Gibeons will make the rods cross 
> vigorously and quickly. Muonions will make the rods cross very slowly. I 
> had my wife and mother-in-law try it and the rods crossed for them. Oddly, 
> the rods wouldn't cross over one single Campo out of 10 tested. I got no 
> reaction out of pallasites, including a Seymchan that is mostly iron. The 
> rods wouldn't cross over the few stone NWAs that I tested. Tomorrow I'm 
> going to test more meteorites and shoot some video of the experiment. 
> 
> I then tested a pyrite meteorwrong, a big slab of float copper, and a dozen 
> or so large crystal cluster with no reaction. I held the rods over an iron 
> corn stove and they crossed so hard they almost jumped out of my hands. I 
> walked outside and held the rods over a steel wheel, an iron fence, several 
> cars, and a pile of scrap iron, each time they crossed without any help from 
> me. I walked over to a fire hydrant and they crossed over it. I walked 
> around the hydrant and they crossed over the underground pipe. I could see 
> the pipe cover in the middle of the street. I walked out to it and crossed 
> over the underground pipe several times, each time the rods crossed. Two 
> kids walking a dog asked me what I was doing. I explained about dowsing and 
> the underground pipe. I asked them to try it. Sure enough the rods crossed 
> when they passed over the pipe. I then went up to the gas meter and could 
> detect the underground pipe going out from the building, under the parking 
> lot and could follow it as it ran between the street and sidewalk. I then 
> went back into the building and with the rods I could tell you exactly where 
> the gas, water and sewer pipes are. I'm going to try this with some 
> blind-folded people tomorrow. 
> 
> I would like to ask each and every naysayer to try this simple experiment, 
> then come on the List and publicly tell me it doesn't work. I had four 
> people try it and it worked for all of them. This is one of the coolest 
> things I have ever done. I'm totally into it and will be conducting several 
> more dowsing experiments. All I ask is that you try it yourself before 
> running your mouth about something you know nothing about. I was very 
> skeptical until I actually tried it. I honestly didn't think it would work. 
> I can assure you it does. Anyone can detect underground pipes with two 
> pieces of wire. You don't need any fancy-dancy equipment to do it. 
> 
> And I looked into the Amazing Kreskin's offer. I thought this would be the 
> easiest million bucks you could possibly make. Amazing Randi is running a 
> complete con and total publicity scam. It's rigged so nobody can get past 
> the preliminary tests. If I can detect underground pipes my first day, there 
> must be thousands of real dowsers that can do it. Try it, it's easy and it's 
> amazing. 
> 
> Seriously, I want all the deniers to try dowsing over any large iron or 
> steel metallic object, buried or on the surface, meteoritic or 
> anthropogenic, and then tell me honestly it doesn't work. I know it will be 
> hard to eat crow with all the mouthing off and some of you will be unable to 
> admit you were totally wrong. The honest ones will swallow their pride and 
> agree that once again Einstein was right and you mere mortals were wrong. 
> Dowsing works and nobody knows why. It surely has something to do with the 
> Earth's magnetic field. The rods are obviously amplifying minute muscular 
> movements but what is causing the unconscious reactions and why? 
> 
> I still am not sure about dowsing for water, but I have no doubt about 
> dowsing iron. I don't see why this principle can't be applied to hunting for 
> large iron meteorites. 
> 
> Phil Whitmer