Water Divining

[naomi24]

I’ve just been listening to ‘The Bottom Line’ on Radio 4 where the guests were the vice president of CH2M Hill, the CEO of Veolia Water, and the CEO of Anglian Water, who all said that water diviners are used within their respective industries. One said if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed it works. Listen to the last few minutes of the programme from about 27.14.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b036w3b6

Your thoughts?

[LazyGun]

Oh, and its been mentioned before - but it is extremely doubtful that animals "scent water". What they can sense, through olfactory receptors and nerves thousands of times more sensitive than our own, is the effect water has on the surrounding vegetation and earth.....

[naomi24]

LG, //You assume that we have not tried it Naomi.//

Yes, I confess I do – but in your case, I’m clearly mistaken.

Jake, //Not that we ever meet people like that on AB!//

Not many in R&S anyway. Most of the religious tend to avoid this section – or so I hear.

[Hypognosis]

Thanks for the link, Naomi. Have now read this thread as well.

Once again, thanks to LazyGun and Jim for saving me a large amount of typing by expressing much of what I have thought about this topic.

...and before anyone comments on how spookily psychic that might be, try the alternative hypothesis - that we happen to subscribe to the same set of 'skeptic memes', for want of a better name for them.

[Svejk]

Or.....you're all as thick as each other. ;-))

[naomi24]

Morning all. Last night I asked my husband to cut up a wire coat hanger for me – he was watching Rick Stein in India at the time. This is how the conversation went.

Me: Could you cut a wire coat-hanger up for me?

Him: What do you want that for?

Me: I want to have a go at water divining.

He slowly turned his head to me, and for a long moment of stunned silence, peered at me over the top of his spectacles.

Him: W-a-t-e-r d-i-v-i-n-i-n-g?

Me: Yes, water divining.

A further moment of stunned silence.

Him: Why?

Me: I want to see if my twigs move.

Back to Rick Stein!

So funny! I was practically crying - and I'm still laughing. Just thought I’d share. :o)

[Svejk]

Some guys don't know what they've got. I'd do anything for you, Naomi........no matter how daft.

[naomi24]

Svejk, how nice. Thank you. I'm blushing.

(I can guarantee that come the weekend, I'll get my 'twigs'). :o)

[mibn2cweus]

//I want to see if my twigs move.//

He was probably wondering what's gone wrong with the one he's always had so much success with in the past.

[gness]

Naomi...what a lot of posts so I haven't been able to read them all.
The water to our house in Ireland was gravity fed through a pipe from a well up the mountain. We had running water and a loo unless one of the Breen's cows stood on the pipe and we had to follow the pipe till we found the leak. A tedious task.
About fifteen years ago we decided to ask a diviner to find water on our land. He came, divined and told us where to drill. We hired a company to drill down for water...and we had our own water supply! Bathroom, shower, two!...yes two loos...bliss and all thanks to the water diviner and his rods! x

[naomi24]

Mibs, haaaa! Sperlatt!! :o)

Gness, you're not the first here to say it works.

[jim360]

Anything can work once, or even twice, but it doesn't mean anything if the effect disappears once you start testing it.

[naomi24]

Just think Jim - in years to come you could be eating your words. ;o)

[jim360]

Perhaps -- but somehow I doubt it.

[gness]

Naomi...I shall have to take Jim in hand...
I must admit when we decided to dowse for our own water...the cows became too much...the only person with raised eyebrows was my very
English, scientific husband. I failed to understand his disbelief. It's how all the locals had found water for their house supply and didn't seem an odd thing to do at all. It's not mystical or spooky...just how we do it.
We had a huge area of land...the dowser wandered about until he found the spot and that was where we drilled. Lots of lovely, sweet water. Really simple.
I did notice fairies and ghosts mentioned. Why do folk think that is what we believe is happening? Ghosts don't exist so it would be pointless asking them and the fairies live in the next field but one to the house and three fields away from where our water was found so they would have been pretty useless too...;-)
Jim...much as I love you....on this one you are quite wrong....x

[jim360]

Can a man walk around a field and find where water is likely to be? Almost certainly -- I expect there are signs that he can pick up that will guide him, and with practice you would get even better. On this much there's no disagreement between anyone.

The sticks don't help in the slightest, is the thing. They just don't. They cannot. There is no connection between water in a field and sticks in your hand. Ultimately, that is the issue. At best, they are perhaps responding to your own instincts: "I think water is nearby, I will jerk the sticks to indicate it", your subconscious says.

You can call me wrong all you like, gness. On this one, the weight of evidence, logic and scientific reason are all against you.

If things change and suddenly an experiment comes along to overturn this and support your position, then firstly wow -- no-one ever got rich by betting that some paranormal effect would turn out to be genuine. But secondly I still won't change my mind, exactly. Not because I'm being dogmatic and all. But my mind is made up that I will accept the results of careful experiments over personal accounts whenever the two are in conflict. I do it everywhere else, so why not here? And, if then the experimental evidence changes the picture, then what else can I do but follow that?

Someone sent me an email with the fabulous quote, "the plural of anecdote is not data". That is the point here. Everyone in the world can come on here and say that they have seen dowsing in action, that it works. Fine -- do the same in a controlled experiment then, and if it works in those conditions I'll start to take notice.

I want to stress, that I myself haven't compared you, or anyone else who believes that dowsing works, to someone who believes in fairies. It's just that you have to accept that for me, experimental data reigns supreme. It works everywhere else, after all -- and there is no reason why it shouldn't work here. And therefore, anyone who observes results contrary to experiment ought to be treated with scepticism.

[woofgang]

drifts in with a long cold drink for Jim

[gness]

Jim...my feelings have trumped evidence, logic and scientific reason before but that's another story. But then I have an incredibly open mind. I can accept scientific evidence and the things that can't be explained by science.. I like thinking that way. I live in a family of scientists...exciting at times I admit, but a little narrow.
I'm tired...cricket and all that but are you saying that I believe this is a paranormal effect? That is the last thing I think...I have never, until now, thought that deeply about it. I grew up with it..it's how we find our water. I don't know if the dowser's sticks or his observation and experience found our water...but he found it. We were happy and I didn't have to chase any more cows. x

[gness]

Spring water, Woof? ;-) x

[jim360]

I use paranormal in the wikipedia sense of the word, I suppose if you're used to water divining then it would just be "normal". Didn't mean any offence by it. I'd like to think I have an open mind, too, but perhaps that just means something different to me.

Anyway, moving on. Hope to see you at the cricket sometime.

[gness]

Jim...I never take offence..life is far to short for that...and anyway I haven't time to make wax effigies at the minute....
Cricket...we must sort something. Will email.....or send thoughts to your mind...;-) x