Dowsing - Science or Humbug?

by Rasmus Jansson, May 1998
Last revised: January 27, 1999




(All pictures by courtesy of Robert Näslund)

Introduction

Homo vult decipi; decipiatur.
[Man wishes to be deceived; deceive him.]

Inherent in human nature is the desire to explore and investigate, and few things capture a curious mind more easily than the unproven and esoteric. Breaking new ground into areas previously unknown has always allured man, probably because of the enticing uncertainty of whereto it leads and the possibilities it brings. Usually, man learns quickly what works and doesn't work, for example where reliable food supply and shelter can be found, which tools are valuable and which are not, etc. Sometimes, however, the relation between cause and effect is misunderstood or even imagined. If adequate methods of testing hypotheses aren't known or applied, faulty explanations of actual phenomena can live on through generations, simply because the only thing that matters is that "it seems to work". There are strong indications that the popular activity called dowsing, the subject of this article, is such a phenomenon. Along with the development of the New Age movement, dowsing has gained enormous popularity among seekers of the unusual. Even official institutions are applying the techniques, intending to build safer homes, hospitals, offices, etc. by avoiding noxious energy fields. Fervent proponents are aquiring substantial power over people's minds by appealing to simple instincts such as self-defense, need for safety, and maternal instincts. (Who would like to have one's baby sleep on a spot that might cause cancer?) Hypochondria, imprudent curiosity, and plain ignorance all help futile ideas disperse. By writing this article, I hope not to disprove dowsing, which in a strict sense would be naive, but indeed shed a little light upon the inconsistencies and the irrationalities that are plaguing the subject and its disciples. I thus hope to awaken interest and spur further investigation. To keep this article at readable length, I've chosen not to include extensive accounts of specific investigations. Such reports, both pro and con, abound, and the interested reader is directed to the resource and link section at the bottom of this document.


Historical Background

[Dowsing rods] be meer toys to mock Apes, and have no commendable device [purpose].
- Reginald Scot, The Discouerie of Witchcraft (1584)

Dowsing, also known as rhabdomancy, divining, water witching, or doodlebugging, is an old practice of finding water or minerals by the means of a dowsing rod. A dowsing rod is traditionally a forked stick which is held firmly in one's hands in a way that allows the rod to swing up or down at the slightest impulse, supposedly indicating the presence of the sought-after material. The mechanism behind the detection is believed to depend on energy fields hitherto unknown to science. The hypothesis is that these energy fields are emitted by all objects at different frequencies and intensities. The origin of the practice is not clear, but the earliest sign of its usage dates from a 4500-5000 year old grave inscription in Brittany. The first time a dowsing rod was described in the literature was in a 1540 publication on mining, De re Metallica by Georgius Agricola. Several academic theses on the subject followed in the subsequent centuries, among which J. H. Martius' De Virgula Divinatrice is one of the most famous. Though, as the above quote suggests, the questionable nature of the phenomenon arose suspicion early on. Ever since, there has been a struggle between skeptics and believers, each party unable to persuade the other by either reasoning or experiments. Numerous times, dowsing has been tested scientifically without producing any significant positive results. However, testing under less strict circumstances seems to mainly produce positive results, suggesting there is indeed something extraordinary going on after all. There have been many attempts to explain the purported phenomenon, ranging from obscure field theories and mathematical monstrosities to prosaic dittos of mere psychological nature. Mainstream science chose viewpoint a long time ago, but the general public doesn't seem to comply. Therefore, the case is not yet closed and the question is open for you to investigate. While reading, it is useful to keep in mind the following question: How can this claim be tested in a way that excludes all confounding variables and still measures the variable of interest?


Central Ideas and Claims

E-rays (from German Erdestrahlen, earth-rays) are believed to originate within earth and penetrate the crust to form invisible square lattices. Local circumstances such as underground streams, rock crevices, mineral ores, etc. also cause fields to radiate from the ground. These fields are believed to affect health, animal behavior, 'human auras', plant growth, and many other things. In addition, the fields can easily be detected by the use of the dowsing rod, and, to this day, by the dowsing rod only. The method of dowsing is believed to be an objective and useful way of testing virtually any quantity not measurable by conventional means.


Curry, Hartmann and Ley Lines

The earth is neatly divided into square lattices by different energy fields, mainly the Curry and the Hartmann fields. The Curry lines, named after their 'discoverer' Manfred Curry (a Swiss physician) in the 1950s, run -45 degrees and 45 degrees of north, forming a lattice where each square is about four meters. The lines themselves are said to be about 40 cm wide. The Hartmann lines, named after the German physician Ernst Hartmann, are about 20 cm wide and are separated about 1.5 meters. Adding an element of arbitrariness, the widths are said to vary over the day and the moon's monthly cycle (the so-called 'earth-tides'). Where two Curry lines cross, a Curry cross is defined. Hartmann crosses are defined analogously. Where a Curry and a Hartmann cross coincide, a so-called super-curry cross or a double cross is defined. The Hartmann lines run almost as the geographical longitudinal and latitudinal lines, only deviating by ten degrees. To find these lattices, one is proposed to make use of a compass (!) and mark out the directions of interest. Once this is completed the fields are easily found.

Interestingly enough, this figure (ten degrees) can only be valid in four places (two on each hemisphere) at the same time. In between the figure changes by several multiples due to the curvature of the earth. If one draws a straight line (as straight as a line can be on a sphere, that is) in the direction of 45 degrees north-west from a point on the equator, the line will after a while arrive at places where it runs ten degrees west-eastwardly. This means the Curry line has changed into a Hartmann line! Or perhaps the fields don't follow straight lines (actually circles) around the earth? There are two geometric possibilities: Either the 45-degree idea is valid only locally, or the Curry lines must twist and converge like a vortex around the geographical poles. If the latter were true, a dowsing Eskimo must have an interesting time, running around looking for a field that's present practically everywhere. Poor thing, no matter where he stands there will always be a noxious energy field emanating from right below!

Nowhere have I found anything dealing with this simple geometric problem. The lines are simply supposed to be turned ten degrees everywhere! This would indeed work on a flat earth, but let's hope Dr Curry and Dr Hartmann were better informed and knew the earth is round. It might be that their understanding of geometry simply failed. Generally, this kind of geometric problem occurs when two spherical coordinate systems (here the Hartmann and Curry line systems) don't overlap, i.e. have their poles in different places.

Dowsers fancy a notion they call 'polarity'. All E-rays and other obscure energy fields have this polarity, either positive or negative. The meaning of polarity differs depending on which dowser is asked; some say it refers to electrical polarity, while others say it refers to the effects the fields have on humans. Curry and Hartmann fields are believed to have negative polarity.

Ley lines are E-rays directed in a controlled way by humans, whence its alternative name 'archaeological lines', alluding to assumed practices of our ancient ancestors. Ordinary Curry and Hartmann lines can be disturbed to change direction as one pleases, most commonly by placing a big rock on top of the lines! Curry and Hartmann lines supposedly originate from deep within earth and penetrate the crust to form the cute lattices, i.e. they are able to pass very thick layers of rock formations without being disturbed, but they will happily change direction upon command by a rock placed on it by human hands. A splendid theory, indeed. Somehow the field must be aware of who has placed the rock in its current position, as the field differentiates between ordinary rocks and those placed there by humans! This channeling effect is allegedly apparent in and around old churches, where the natural fields are directed to converge at the sanctuary. Since the fields in question are considered negative in both polarity and effect, the directing of the ley lines towards the sanctuary must have intended to hurt or impede the priest in his work. How piously gentle! But, says the dowser, unlike Curry or Hartmann lines, ley lines have positive electrical polarity and are beneficial for humans. Ah, putting rocks on the fields not only makes the lines change direction - the polarity changes from negative to positive, too!?


Programming and Asking the Right Questions

The response of a dowsing rod depends on how you expect it to move at a certain stimulus. The fine art of telling the dowsing rod how to behave, say in the presence of water or oil, is called programming. In principle, all one has to do is to decide or tell oneself that if a certain substance is present, the rod should respond by a certain movement. To test whether the rod (or the body) has been programmed correctly, one only needs to expose the rod to the field in question. If the rod behaves as it should, then fine, if it doesn't, then the programming wasn't effective enough and has to be repeated or changed. It is often in this stage of the learning process that belief is established; testing and testing time after another until, wow, it actually works! Part two, namely rigorous testing of the newly aquired abilities is likely to give other results and is discouraging, so why bother? Dowsing rods can also be used to answer difficult questions, it is argued. For example, just program the rod to react one way for no and another for yes, and once the programming is completed all the answers you could possibly want will be available to you through your innate psychic ability. For example, ask about future profession, marriage, deaths of relatives, etc. Designing proper tests for this ludicrous claim is so simple that I won't offend the reader by suggesting any.


Finding Water or any Other Material

Just as there are so-called panaceas (cure-alls) in alternative medicine, the dowsing rod has infinitely many uses. Just tell it, or perhaps the mind, what to look for, and it will obey. Hidden treasures, mineral resources, water, oil, prey, etc. can all be found by dowsing, according to the initiated. The traditional dowser who claims to be successful in finding flowing water by dowsing might just be overlooking a few important facts. First, ground water within reasonable drilling depth is present almost everywhere. Well, the dowser argues, the art is to find the little subterranean streams where the water won't be standing still. The key here is that if there is underground water, originally moving or not, this will start to flow in the direction of the drilling hole, just as it eventually does when one digs a hole in the sand on a beach. The dowser then fools himself to believe that he actually found an underground stream. Now it's time for him to go home and feel he did something great. I'd suggest that the dowser be asked to find a place where there is no water! If flowing water alone causes these obscure fields, then what about rivers? Does the field grow in intensity with the size and speed of the streaming water masses? If so, traveling by boat on a river must be dangerous (especially against the current), not to speak about going in a speed boat or flying in an aircraft above the water.

Many dowsers seem to be very confident when they boast their abilities to identify hidden materials. With the powerful tools dowsers possess, would they be willing to serve humanity in a few extremely well-needed tasks such as in the removal of mines in post-war areas? The need is immense and likewise are the potential earnings and fame. Perhaps the confidence in the method is not so strong after all? For humanitarian reasons, I hope this will never be put to a test, but the question is well worth asking.


Map Dowsing, Natural Resources, and Missing People

Dowsers readily makes use of a map in their search for wonders. The most popular tool for map dowsing is the pendulum (see below), leaving nothing unseen. All one needs to do is to swing the pendulum above the map and ask the right questions. Everything can be found: oil, minerals, water, lost possessions, kidnapped people, etc. If this is so, why do so many dowsers spend time looking for water when there are more interesting things lying around untouched, such as gold, oil, dropped wallets, etc.? And why are dowsers so eager to share their powerful methods with others if it can cost them a gold mine?


Pseudoarchaeological Research

Not only archaeologists are attracted by ancient monuments. Dowsers love to dowse for energy fields known to our ancestors. This study is a variety of dowsing and is called geomancy. Virtually every stone circle is full of double crosses and ley lines, suggesting vast knowledge about E-rays among past civilizations. Troy towns (a kind of labyrinth), stone ships, and graves can possess energies that make tree trunks twist and one's balance go awry. Interestingly enough, the dowsed archaic ley lines tend to form advanced geometric shapes, usually connecting rocks or otherwise interesting spots, often leading to rash conclusions about astronomical and mathematical abilities far beyond what classical archaeology concludes. Here, as in many other pseudosciences, one can discern a strong predilection and search for ancient wisdom. Perhaps this is a natural response to the modern sciences which are becoming increasingly difficult for the layman to grasp. Worth noting is also that geometric formations not only can be discovered virtually everywhere, they can also be constructed and be made into arbitrarily advanced patterns. A ruler, a pair of compasses, and a little imagination is all you need to write history!


Noxious Energy Fields and Medical Uses

Dowsing rods are said to be efficient tools in detecting auras, the imagined multi-layered energy field surrounding every living creature. The aura is a reflection of the beings physical and mental health. Not only does the aura change when the creature's well-being changes, the well-being itself can be changed by manipulating the aura! (Direct aura balancing as a healing form is beyond the scope of this article.) Since the aura is believed to diminish when exposed to E-rays, it is desirable to avoid spots with high intensity. Many kinds of diseases, cancer and chronic fatigue being favorite examples, are blamed on prolonged E-ray exposure. Hence the dowsers' strong recommendations that no beds or other furniture of long-time use be placed over Curry or Hartmann crosses. For example, screaming babies have been moved away from crosses, with claimed positive results. Of course, all babies like being attended to when screaming, but let's hope the experimenters took that into account. Similar experiments have been conducted at hospitals, where patients who were moved away from the noxious crosses recuperated quickly. I think the reader can see the potential powers dowsers could aquire, and to a certain extent have aquired already, by claiming to possess such simple remedies and preventions for various afflictions.

The Swedish architect Dick Sjöberg, founder of the Institute for Biophysical Construction (Institutet för byggbiofysik), makes big business by claiming to know how houses and offices should be built in order to minimize E-ray exposure and thereby illnesses and absence from work. He also claims to have invented a scientific instrument that measures E-rays. Though, "invented" might be the wrong word, as the instrument is a regular radio transmitter emitting waves of variable frequency. It is used together with a dowsing rod to see at which freqencies the E-rays are cancelled by destructive interference. Sadly, the apparatus is no more scientific than the dowsing rod itself, as the detection system is totally dependent on the dowsing rod. Sjöberg also claims that E-rays can be responsible for divorces, car accidents, runaway horses, stopped clocks, etc. Presently, he is trying to make the car industry aware of every car's need for his (?) little frequency neutralizer, which efficiently cancels out the sleep-inducing varying Curry fields at speeds around 90 km/h. The little device is called ELMAG MK 75 and is sold for 1280 SEK (ca 160 USD). It seems to me as if Sjöberg is mixing apples with pears as he tries to cancel out an oscillating field of unknown character (i.e. the E-rays) with regular electromagnetic waves. This confusion of mixing physical quantities arbitrarily is in principle comparable to cancelling sound waves by the use of radio waves, or maybe even cancelling a tsunami with a trumpet. Good luck!


Effects on Plants

Plants and trees dislike the E-ray lattices and especially the crosses. Trees that happen to grow on top of a cross grow abnormally and tend to develop malformations. This can be observed in alleys lined with trees, where some trees usually grow smaller than the others. Crops also grow according to E-ray exposure, dowsers say. This is why crop fields vary in height. Oh, really? Why aren't crop fields patterned in accordance with the E-rays in a way that non-dowsers can see? Height of the crop is, after all, an objective quantity that anyone can estimate by just looking or measuring. It is simple to imagine a dowser finding a super cross where the crop is unusually short. But, would the dowser find the same cross after harvest? Harvesting does the favor to exclude a very important variable, namely the correlation between expectations and visual information. As in the case of trees, would the dowser be able to tell whether a stump was once a healthy or a malformed tree, i.e. if there is a Curry cross right under it? The importance of isolating variables cannot be emphasized enough.


Ant-heaps and Animal Behavior

Animals seem to be aware of E-rays, particularly the Curry lines. Ants build their heaps on Curry crosses and run their trails along Curry lines. An interesting observation is that ant-heaps are usually right next to trees! Perhaps trees like to be very close to but not right above crosses? Wild game also show preferences as where to walk and hide. For example, hares tend to rest on Curry crosses and roedeer prefer to walk on the lines. (A winding animal track is bound to cross and run parallell to the lines every now and then. Selective game watching makes wonders!) The hypothesis is that these animals seek protection by diminishing their auras, as predators find their prey by seeing auras. For the same reason, cats like to be on Curry crosses when hunting. That way they won't get discovered as easily! On the contrary, dogs avoid crosses.


Psi-tracks and Navigation

In 1987, the Swede Göte Andersson discovered a new phenomenon, the psi-track. It is a strange energy field, similar to but not the same thing as E-rays, that is created by sheer visualization, running between the visualizing person and the object he's thinking of. The track can only be detected by dowsing, yet it has some very interesting properties. The track remains in the same place although the creator moves away. If the object moves, however, the track follows the object. Furthermore, the track can be miles long and last for about an hour, after which it slowly fades away. Through triangulation - a simple mathematical method for calculating an object's position - one can easily find lost objects or missing people simply by thinking about them and following the upcoming psi-track. This fantastic field can also be used for navigation. For example, migratory birds and the aborigines of Australia are said to use the psi-track to find their way home. According to Mr Andersson, that is. One just wonders when he will be nominated the Nobel prize of physics or medicine.


Dowsing Tools

[The dowsing rod] may rank with electricity and atomic power...
- Kenneth Roberts, misinformed American Journalist, 1953

There seems to be no end to what tools can be used for dowsing. Virtually any object that displays an unstable behavior will work, and sometimes stable objects as well. By "unstable" is meant the property of an object to move away from equilibrium when exposed even to a small disturbance. An illustrative example would be a small ball at rest inside a bowl which forms a stable system, whereas a ball on top of a bowl turned up-side-down forms an unstable system. Below follow brief descriptions of the most popular and widely discussed tools.


Y-rod

This is probably the oldest tool. As the name hints, the shape looks like a Y. Each hand is supposed to grasp one of the short ends, and by bending one's hands outwards, the Y-rod turns into a very unstable system with its tip moving up or down by the slightest impulse. The material constituting a Y-rod is traditionally wood, i.e. a natural Y-shaped twig, but any material having the right mechanical properties will do. Worthy of mentioning here are the corresponding German and Norwegian words for the dowsing rod (the Y-rod in particular): Wunschelrute and önskekvist, respectively, both meaning 'wishing stick'.


L-rods

An L-rod is preferably made of a thin but sturdy steel wire, bent at a right angle to form an L-shape. The short end is meant for holding as the long end is then allowed to swing horizontally. It is most common to use one rod in each hand. The rods are believed to deflect when encountering an energy field, be it the human aura, the biomagnetic field of a plant, E-rays from cracks in the ground, or any other hypothetical field not measurable by common means.


Pendulum

The pendulum is a weight hanging at the end of a string. According to some dowsers, the material of the pendulum is of no importance, yet according to others it is crucial. Hence everything from a stone and a sewing thread to an exclusive gem with a golden string will work. Needless to say, there is money in this business, too. Note that the pendulum is a stable system and won't react violently on any normal treatment. Here, the direction of the swinging movements is interpreted according to the previous programming.


Bobber

The bobber is the simplest of the tools. It is made of a flexible wire or twig, usually one to three feet long. Fancy models are weighted at the tip. It is used as the pendulum, but pointing downwards at about 45 degrees angle. This, too, is a stable system.



The Body itself

Unusually gifted people are said to be able to dowse without tools. Some say that rubber boots are essential for the result, and yet others claim that rubber boots completely destroy one's dowsing abilities. Choose as you please!


Physical Theories and Attempted Explanations

A common statement liked by dowsers is that 'up to date, there is no satisfactory explanation to what E-rays are'. The wording is somewhat misleading as it renders the existence of the fields undisputable. There is no satisfactory explanation, yet the attempted explanations abound. It is beyond the scope of this article to treat every theory in detail, so below follow just names of popular theories put forth by eminent researchers 'in the field'. The list is in essence quoted from Robert Näslund's Specialarbete Slagrutan, chapter eleven.

  • Biogravitation. PhD Alexander Pavlovich Dubrov, Russia.
  • Electro-kinetic currents. Professor R. Häfeli, Switzerland.
  • Fields from underground tensions. Nils-Axel Mörner, Sweden.
  • Heat radiation (infra-red light, IR). Gustav Freiherr von Pohl, Germany.
  • Ionization. PhD P. Dobler, Germany.
  • Neutron radiation. PhD Aschoff, Germany.
  • Thermal neutron radiation and microwaves. Professor K-E Lotz et al., Germany.
Obviously there is no unanimity among the initiated researchers, but more interestingly, the proposed explanations are formulated in classical terms. These terms, except for 'underground tension fields' and the innovative term 'biogravitation', are names for already quantitatively measurable and qualitatively understood natural phenomena. Why, then, aren't E-rays measurable? Perhaps most of the theories are plain flummery?

Most attempted explanations make use of the word 'frequency'. All materials have their natural frequencies (eigenfreq.) at which they vibrate. The properties of the radiation emitted by this vibrating motion are mainly dependent on temperature - the higher the temperature the higher the frequency. These natural frequencies are believed to be responsible for some of the fields. The only problem here is that these fields are already measurable by mundane, scientific methods (the IR-camera is a good example). Nils-Axel Mörner at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, claims to be able to measure E-ray frequencies. His measurement is made by employing a common electrical tone generator. At a certain frequency the E-rays stop being measurable, which in a sense defines their frequency. When the E-ray is extinguished, a line similar to the psi-track is formed from the location of the former field to the speaker of the tone generator! (How this is possible when the field from the beginning is a line thousands of kilometers long, i.e. having no specific origin, I don't know. Perhaps a psi-plane would be a better term?) By this means, Curry lines, Hartmann lines, and underground streams have the frequencies 202, 142, and 440 Hz, respectively. Another prominent dowser in Sweden, Arne Groth, found the frequencies to be 401.9, 279.1, and 193.8 Hz, respectively. So does this mean that there actually exists an objective way to measure E-rays? No, not any more objective than earlier as the fields' sudden disappearance, or immeasurability, is determined by the same old means as usual, the dowsing rod.

There are many "researchers" working on the hypothesis that E-rays are electromagnetic fields. Though, technology of today boasts enormously sensitive detectors, and the E-rays would have been discovered a long time ago if they were of electromagnetic nature. To put things into perspective, consider the example that technology enables us to receive radio signals (low-frequency electromagnetic radiation) from distant satellites traveling on the verges of our solar system. The emitter of these signals has the power of 20 watts, i.e. the same power as a very weak light bulb. This light we are able to see and interpret from billions of kilometers away. But we can't detect the field that causes a Y-rod to swing so fast it can almost hurt you. If the E-rays actually exist, they're very likely something else than electromagnetic radiation.


The Psychology of Dowsing

Man's capacity for self-delusion is infinite.
- Dr. Elie A. Shneour, Biosystems Research Institute

The Ideomotoric Effect

Take a paper clip and tie a 15-30 cm sewing thread to it. Rest your elbow on a table, hold the loose end of the thread with your fingers and let the paper clip swing like a pendulum right above the table. Then hold still and try not to move your arm at all. Now visualize that the pendulum swings back and forth, but do not move your arm! Does the pendulum swing? If not, visualize harder, because it will eventually move. The reason is not at all magic. What happens is called an ideomotoric effect, which is a subconscious movement governed indirectly by your expectations rather than conscious muscle activity. Since the ideomotoric effect causes such minute muscle motion, a sensitive instrument helps to make the effect clearly visible. This is where unstable systems are expedient. A very small movement away from equilibrium causes great fluctuations in the system. Guess why dowsing rods seem to move all by themselves! They don't.


Instability and External Attribution Bias

As in the case of L- or Y-rods, the instability itself enhances the instrument's credibility. An unstable system is very difficult to keep in equilibrium and deviations must be compensated for all the time. This unpredictability causes the dowser to believe that he has no control over the rod's movements, which, so far, is correct. It is when the dowser interprets the cause of the movements to be of exterior origin that an illogical conclusion is drawn. Note that nothing is stated about whether the dowser is actually right or wrong, but an illogical conclusion is no more than a questionable assumption (which, of course, might be true. See the main page on post hoc reasoning). What's psychologically interesting is the proneness to think that 'if I can't control the moving instrument resting in my hands, then something else does!'. This tendency, i.e. to ascribe (attribute) a self-caused effect to external sources, is called external attribution.


Expectations and Suggestive Environments

Expectations' influence on the subconscious and random (=indeliberate) perturbances of the system can cause just about any effect. A suggestive environment, for example supportive and enthusiastic onlookers, makes the positive outcome all the more probable regardless of contingent physical effects involved. Other suggestive environments could be "sacred" places such as graveyards, churches, runestones, or more common places or objects such as power stations, tv-sets, computers, water cisterns, magnets, etc. The primary task of the experimenter is, in the case of dowsing, to try to eliminate the test result's dependence on the subject's expectations, a principle not commonly practised among dowsers. Why would they try to falsify their own hypotheses when they're already convinced that dowsing works? The answer to this simple question essentially differentiates science from pseudoscience. I believe that rigorous testing is happily abstained from for several reasons: ignorance, lack of knowledge, fright of disconfirming results, and the will to believe. These aspects not only make the mind susceptible to anything, they can also unjustly rule out the validity of proper test results. If a test gives a negative or unexpected result, the test itself is concluded to be fallacious!


Health Threats

Threats to one's health are likely to be listened to, no matter on what they are founded. It is just plain sane behavior to be vigilant and protective, especially when it comes to providing safe environs for one's offspring. This behavior is widely utilized by dowsers who are eager to disseminate their insight. Who wouldn't listen to a dowser claiming that the cradle with one's newborn baby is situated on a spot that significantly increases the risk for sudden infant death syndrome? I think most dowsers are honest and really believe in what they're doing. However, this doesn't protect them from using persuasion techniques that are, so to speak, a little unjustified.


Experimental Setups and Interpretations

One common denominator for most parapsychological and pseudoscientific research (that I'm aware of) is poor experimental setups. It is argued that the complexity of supernatural phenomena makes isolation of variables difficult and the scientific method inapplicable. Unlike other disciplines of highly questionable nature, the art of dowsing boasts powers of easily testable character. (Dowsers themselves think they're doing "really advanced stuff", while physicists either laugh or cry.) Most claims are actually rather specific and can be evaluated in simple and relatively cheap ways. What is needed is basically a little time and smartness.

The propensity to score the hits and neglect the misses is probably the number one reason for the flourishing of superstition and pseudoscience today, including dowsing. Any close look at healing claims, prognostications, horoscopes, etc. will show upon such behavior in one way or another. Virtually any result of statistical nature can be achieved by choosing data selectively. Say, for example, that you want to prove your extraordinary ability to toss a coin head up. What you need for the proof is to toss a sequence of heads up that is long enough for the claim to be statistically significant. How do you do this without faking the data? Simple. Toss the coin a large number of times and then select a part of the sequence that agrees nicely with your goal. Q.E.D. Also, hits are much more easily remembered than misses, particularly when each hit adds to the confirmation of a hypothesis one wants to be true.


Conclusion

Controlled field and laboratory tests have failed to establish the validity of dowsing, and judged by scientific standards the practice has little basis in fact.
- Encyclopedia Americana

Few people would be more thrilled than I if dowsing were proved to work. A whole new field of physical research would open up, the present-day laws of physics would have to be rewritten or at least expanded. This scenario is a dream of many a physicist; to find new fundamental laws of physics that better explain the world in which we live. But in the case of dowsing, proponents have had the possibility to prove that their ideas hold for centuries without any greater success in capturing the interest of the science community. The science community itself has flaws and is often narrow-minded to new ideas, but given several hundred years of time for evaluation of a few simple claims I believe the critical standpoint is taken on solid grounds. However, I encourage anyone interested in the field to continue research as long as the approach is serious. Simple truths about nature can't choose to hide from the skeptical minds and be seen by the gullible at the same time.



Resources

Non-critical Sites
Neutral Sites
Critical Sites, Books, and Articles
  • The Skeptic's dictionary on Dowsing
  • James Randi's comments on the above Nils Axel Mörner show
  • Scientific American on Dowsing

  • Enright, J.T., Skeptical Inquirer, 'Testing Dowsing, The Failure of the Munich Experiments', January/February 1999
  • Folkvett, nr 3-4, 1997, Vetenskap och folkbildning
  • Hancock, P. A., Skeptical Inquirer, 'Dowsing the Rollrights', Jauary/February 1998
  • Nickell, Joe, Secrets of the Supernatural, New York: Prometheus Books, 1991, pp 89
  • Randi, James, An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural, 'Dowsing', New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997
  • Randi, James, FLIM-FLAM!, New York: Prometheus Books, 1982, pp 308
More Links


Disclaimers:

The material I have used for my research is such that I cannot guarantee the claims above to always represent the mainstream beliefs of dowsers.

Reading this page may induce noxious energies (with negative polarity, of course) disturbing the energy flow of your natural aura. Beware the field!

I have conseqently used the pronoun he instead of he or she. Any female offended by this sexism should notice that the use of he in this context is strongly in favor of female intellect.



Comments and corrections much appreciated. Mail me at rasmus@lysator.liu.se!

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