Ley lines

[jomifl]

Following a recent reference to ley lines on AB, are they something mysterious and profound or complete tosh, thoughts please?

[boxtops]

Exactly, AP - that's why I find them mysterious.

[DTCwordfan]

and with intersecting points like church altars....^

[RATTER15]

Tosh!!

[askyourgran]

The Pyramids were build on similar lines, they also line up with a certain star, Sirius I think at a particular time of the planetary year.

[Answerprancer]

Birdy/Ratter - is it really tosh and pish ? have you tried it ? ...heccccck-zactly.

You need a straight edge -preferably a 1 metre steel rule- a fully opened out OS map, a nice flat table top, and an open mind (oh well three out of four might work).

;-)

[LazyGun]

I am curious as to why people think that, because you can draw a straight line between 2 points on a map, this somehow confers magical properties on said straight line. Can someone explain this to me?

You can draw a straight line between ANY 2 points on a map - doesnt mean they are "connected".

As for dowsing - well, the wonderful thing about the scientific method is that we do not have to rely on personal observation or anecdotal evidence. All controlled trials have shown that dowsers perform no better than random chance. So, you might think it works, AP - others might as well - but its scientifically implausible, and the evidence is against it.

One more thing - if you believe in dowsing, as you seem to - would you be happy to have our security services use dowsing as a means of scanning for explosives at airports? if not, why not?

[flip_flop]

All complete rubbish, as is/are;

Astrology
ESP
Psychics
Telekinesis
God
Mediums
Tarot Card Readers
Clairvoyants
Ghosts
The Devil
Homeopathy
The G Spot (I hope)
Leprachauns
Etc....

[jake-the-peg]

Saw an interesting test with dowsers - quite a large sample

They were asked to determine which bucket had a glass of water under it.

Crucially before they started they were asked if they were confident they could do it, whether it was a fair test if there were any adverse conditions etc.

Predictably they didn't do any better than chance.

Some got pretty cross after, I think one thing that shows is that they genuinely believe they can do it - it's not a deliberate scam in most cases - just delusion

[jomifl]

Jake.. I think I saw the same experiment, it was on TV I believe. I had an ineresting experience with dowsing, a local builder needed to know where my water main was, so after improvising some dowsing rods he rapidly found the location of the main and after digging a hole found ..nothing. A hired scanner found it quite quickly 6 feet away from the hole, about the same accuracy as ley lines.

[RATTER15]

"Homeopathy" I think you will find that this has been proven under scientific and clinical conditions, however they are not sure why it works.

"The G Spot (I hope)" most definitely does exist, it is just a load of nerve endings. more prounced in some than others

[RATTER15]

Pronounced *

[flip_flop]

Re: The G Spot - I'll have to look harder.

Re: Homeopathy - If all I've read on the subject is to be believed, at best it is a placebo and hasn't been proven to have any curative properties (other than as a placebo).

[Answerprancer]

Lazygun, there are a couple of holes in your arguments afaics
I did not say anything about TWO points on a map - even a moron could work that out. I am talking about multiple alignments ie. lots of things lining up over tens, even hundreds of miles.
"One more thing - if you believe in dowsing, as you seem to - would you be happy to have our security services use dowsing as a means of scanning for explosives at airports? if not, why not?"
I didn't state that I fully believe in it, I just happened to be less closed minded about the notion than some others. As far as I know, dowsing hasn't been tested on explosives so I wouldn't rely on it.
Shy of insults and ridicule, I find your comments unnecessarily inflammatory - lighten up man.
Flip-Flop ...in your HUMBLE opinion ?

[LazyGun]

@AP - Its you who go on about claiming mysterious properties of ley lines. Once again, given the sheer number of supposed ancient / mysterious sites, it is no surprise that several might line up. This does not confer any special significance. I think it was you who mentioned something about them all being in sequential line of sight or something? Something else which has been disproved. My house alone lines up with about 4 designated mystical sites - but my house is about as mundane and routine as you can get

Summary - Mysterious forces associated with Ley Lines unproven, Ley Lines themselves artificial constructs - straight lines - on a map.

I also find the comment about being close minded rather strange. I am less credulous of unsubstantiated, unevidenced, frequently debunked claims, is all - you want to believe em, that is of course your perogative - but this is an open forum, and what people post is up for challenge.

I find it interesting that you believe in dowsing - but not enough to stake your life on it. The Iraqi army defended the entry points to the Green Security Zone in Baghad using "scanners" that worked on "quantum signatures" of various materials, using the principle of dowsing. These useless, unscientific, unevidenced pieces of junk were sold to the credulous by amoral british and german based companies, with the connivance of backhanders to the appropriate individuals.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Its that simple. Dowsing has more to do with the ideomotor effect and subconscious cues about the environment - oh, and guessing, of course.

[Answerprancer]

Lazygun. Of course you are free to disbelieve anything you like just as I am to be more open minded to the idea, no one is trying to remove your freedom of opinion, it's just that the way you present it more than borders on an attack IMO.
You use terms like "go on about" and continue to mis-represent what I say, I had a feeling that your little idea about testing me re. explosives was going to be in two parts so I'll repeat what I said: As far as I know, dowsing hasn't been tested on explosives so I wouldn't rely on it.
You can think what you like, and I'll think what I like.
Now let's see if you are prepared to just agree to disagree.