That was a serious answer. Dowsing only works for those that believe in
it. If you can be convinced of the legitimacy of dowsing, then all you
need to do is lay out your site map on a Ouija board.
In the early 90's, I took an interest in the then new stream of pseudo
remote sensing devices that included a number of expensive dowsing
doo-dads. We took a serious look at virtually everything from the
simplest homemade Hume type to the more expensive and aggressively
marketed devices that were being used to bilk dowsing believers.
In 1991, I had occasion to disassemble and inspect one of the high end
$2500 electronic dowsing instruments. It consisted of a horizontal
antenna mounted on a very slick bearing surface over a fancy handle
arrangement with a meter and needle that fluctuated with movement. The
"electronics" were potted so that it would be virtually impossible under
normal circumstances to inspect the components inside. This particular
unit had been chucked up against the wall and was damaged so it's owner
had no further qualms with destructive disassembly. As it turned out,
the battery wiring did nothing more than insure a battery test.
We also were involved in an actual field test of a similar instrument
that supposedly operated on the principle of frequency induction in
conjunction with conventional dowsing gizmos. Some of you may recall
that this same device was used to outline Noah's Ark in Turkey. While
the principle of operation espoused by the manufacturer has no basis in
theory (it would require something on the order of a magnet large enough
to rip your car keys a full city block to produce an induced signal
large enough to measure with the finest test instruments), the
opportunity to see one of these driven with a 9 volt battery, presented
itself. Several dry backhoe holes later, the manufacturer's
representative pronounced that the instrument was in error because of
the current high occurrence of sunspots. I think he may have actually
believed this.
I have heard many, many stories about dowsing and water witching but
when you set out to actually prove this, you find that it can only be
accomplished by those that believe in it; voodoo is a somewhat similar
concept. This is what brought on the expensive, techno bogus devices.
It is a typical scam in which the believer is unable or unwilling to
admit he or she has been duped out of a large sum of money.
So, what is the real intention of the initial post? Does your cemetery
project need an inexpensive means (coat hangers) to facilitate survey as
a result of a lack of funding? There seems to be a willingness to commit
to this level of testing for some reason?
Rich Green
Historic Archaeological Research
4338 Hadley Court
West Lafayette, IN 47906
Office: (765) 464-8735
Home: (765) 464-8095
http://www.har-indy.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "ned heite" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2001 7:21 AM
Subject: Dowsing
> Rich Green wrote:
>
> >There is no technology in dowsing. It is little more than redneck
> >voodoo. Hume also suggested that coat hangers were a better choice
than
> >metal detectors. I doubt if anyone gives much credence to that
> >assertion.
> >
> >Surely, you're not asking a serious question with regard to dowsing?
>
>
> Yes, I am asking a serious question.
>
> Mr. Noel Hume is not the only reliable authority to mention dowsing
> as a potentially serious technology. Even if the suggestion had come
> from a lesser figure, serious suggestions deserve to be honored.
>
> I don't know why it works, how it works, or even if it works. I
> merely asked if anyone has given it an open-minded test. We're in
> pretty bad shape if we can dismiss ideas as "redneck voodoo" without
> reasonable test and review.
>
> So, please, does anyone have serious answers?
>
>
> --
> *****[log in to unmask]******
> * *
> * Compost is nature's *
> * way of thanking us *
> * for not trashing *
> * the world with more *
> * unnecessary and *
> * worthless landfills.*
> * --Thanks very mulch *
> ************************
>
>
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