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?

[chrisgel]

Unless it can be proved using rigorous scientific methods it's just hocus-pocus and ranks alongside Tarot Cards, horoscopes and homeopathy.

[naomi24]

Did you listen, Chris?

[modeller]

For a bit of fun I showed a class of 25 how to do it on our school field . They didn't find water but they did find £6 in small change .

[jim360]

I did listen to the last few minutes, but again it's nothing new? These claims have been around for centuries. And how incredibly useful they would be if they did work -- but not a single claimed water diviner has stood up to scientific scrutiny.

[Svejk]

I can't see video but I've often 'divined' underground water-pipes etc. on site.
I think anyone can do it.

[chrisgel]

Naomi - Yes I listened to last few minutes. They seemed a bit embarrassed to admit they used them to me. I would be too.

[jim360]

Yup, so can I. It's called guesswork.

[Brinjal]

Really. We use water dividers here in Africa. Have failed to find water on our property but found prolific supply next door.

[askyourgran]

It does actually work, and it's a strange feeling when the divining rods cross at the point of water.

[Mamyalynne]

Also it can be used in conjunction with other scientific methods to very good ends...


http://www.geodivining.com/about.htm

[jim360]

It doesn't work. Anyone who says otherwise is, frankly, wrong. Numerous studies, numerous attempts to see whether or not dowsing works have consistently found it to be no better than random chance.

[modeller]

Many years ago I had put in a drain pipe which went under the patio , however some years later I tried to dig it up but couldn't find it . I then tried water divining and found it spot on about 6ft from where I had been digging . Had I done that first I could have saved myself a lot of hard work.

[chrisgel]

I have seen "dowsers" who claim to be able to divine water using a map and they say it works just as well as if you were actually on site.
What I do know is that James Randi has debunked several of these people and no-one has yet collected his $1 million.

[Svejk]

I was on the M3 (I think, near Winchester) & they sent me and this Irish bloke into a massive cornfield & told us to dig a series of trenches to locate the 2 ends of a water-pipe before they put the big machines through it. Divined them in 20mins & had a few days sunbathing.

[237SJ]

When a friend of mine lived at her last place, the neighbours decided that they would like to see if they could have their own water supply (it was all the rage about 6 or 7 years ago). The contractors came around and used water divining to see if there was a source of water in the vicinity. The result was that they had a borehole in their garden and they have their own water now.

[naomi24]

My question (in my head) was WHY do they use them? If, as Jim states quite categorically, it doesn't work, then why would major companies employ such people?

[chrisgel]

//why would major companies employ such people? //

1. Because they're not immune to gullibility.
2. Because it's probably a lot cheaper than hiring properly trained geologists.

[jim360]

I suppose one reason for that would be that "doesn't work" might be implying 100% failure rates, which isn't really what I mean. What I do mean is that dowsing is no better, overall, than random chance. People seem to use lots of methods that are known (scientifically) to be no better than chance, but people swear by them anyway. Chance can run in your favour, so that a method appears to be very successful, but every time it goes against you, you tend to forget it -- which makes it appear yet more successful.

So in that sense, that water companies use dowsing is hardly surprising. No amount of scientific evidence can persuade some people that ancient techniques aren't worth continuing.

[naomi24]

Chris, //Because they're not immune to gullibility. //

That one doesn't wash at all. Big companies want results for their money.

[askyourgran]

Because its a cheap and easy option that has been known to get results rather than using expensive equipment?