You can private msg me. I tried to find your number and call you but could not locate it. Look forward to speaking with you.

Like the government "protects" me from taking those "dangerous" vitamins, that are only 'dangerous' to the profits of the pharma companies who own the legislators who pass those 'protection' bills?
If someone is foolish enough to spend scarce resources without doing research, LET THEM.
If it's a clear case of fraud then let the injured parties pursue them for fraud after the fact.
However, I make no comment on this specific case, as I have not done the research on dowsing.

rain,
Just reminding you the site is public. Would you like me to private message lost for you and you can delete your comment if you don't want your phone number out there?

Dear Lost Sierra,

I would love to talk with you.

Can you call me?

Kind Regards,
Kim Greenhouse

(626) 398-8652

lost, don't put all your gold into one dowsing.

My mining engineer mentor could dowse water and did so for clients all over Nevada, both ranchers and large mining companies. He was also co-inventor of the heap leach method of recovery. He told me he did not know how he did it, but he did. Thought it would be explained by science one day. I have seen two men dowse gold in the field. It is amazing to watch it done. Not everyone can do this anymore than they can throw a 100 mph fastball and hit the corner on a 3-2 pitch, or hit a speeding receiver in the corner 50 yards down field. Metal detectors detect gold, and proton magnetometers find treasure on the sea floor and gold deposits, too. Dowsing is similar in it's scientific methods but not yet explained. I know miners who are superb detectorists but few others can match them. Have watched a gold dowser at work. I challenged him, he won. I know a man who found a million $ pocket, too. We have much to learn yet.

Years back I knew a water well drilling co. owner. He often used dowsers before drilling. It was safer and cheaper, fewer misses. Better for the customers.

Unfortunately government agencies seem to stifle that process mat times. Especially the FDA.

I agree. All I ask is for there to be a discussion that backs assertions with scientific evidence. I would always verify any blanket statement coming out of CDC or FDA-after all, they are part of a vast government machine with agendas. jan was just telling us about a company that did genetic testing and gave probabilities to clients based on genetic code. The FDA shut them down. Perhaps the methods are new and controversial-I would never say the government has a right to get between two parties in a contract.

I would personally choose science in this instance. I wonder about the medical community. We have antibiotics and other medicines that may do more harm than good. Old time remedies are often shunned as being quackery because no studies show they are effective. No studies will be done because there is not enough profit to be made. You got me thinking Kh.

I see it as a philosophical battle in the war against Science. This is an observation vs an axiom: The Law of Identity. It is considered rude (closed minded) nowadays to demand that people back up up their assertions with logic and reason. Science has eroded horribly in our society. If it is one choice among many options, that's objectively wrong.

“The United States of America have exhibited, perhaps, the first example of governments erected on the simple principles of nature; and if men are now sufficiently enlightened to disabuse themselves of artifice, imposture, hypocrisy, and superstition, they will consider this event as an era in their history." John Adams

I was wondering what approach should be taken if we agree it is just quackery. What should be done about it?

where is government mentioned in the article or the post? I am ,however, critical of decision makers contracting what I consider to be nonsense and scientific studies have backed up.
I am also critical of those who say science is not important in these types of decisions.
"What is mysticism? Mysticism is the acceptance of allegations without evidence or proof, either apart from or against the evidence of one’s senses and one’s reason. Mysticism is the claim to some non-sensory, non-rational, non-definable, non-identifiable means of knowledge, such as “instinct,” “intuition,” “revelation,” or any form of “just knowing.” Rand, Philosophy: Who Needs It?

Dowsers employ many of the same techniques as cold readers. Part of the game is to get the customer to accept failure as a different kind of success. Its all snake oil, plain and simple..

My old Petrology professor did a demo with a dowser and the dowser couldn't find the glass of water. I have seen dowsing work out in the field though. The farmers should be free to try which ever method they choose.

absolutely! just pointing out the irony

Could be but should the government protect us from them? Should we outlaw it? People should be free to waste their money how they see fit. If it works for them then so be it.

We had some in the area I grew up. A lot of people talked about how good they were at finding water. I have no problem with giving people a choice. Let them spend their money as they want to.

The geology is usually well known for an area. I don't think scientists are afraid, I think they caution people not to spend spend foolishly. There is no rational explanation or statistical evidence that this works. Many people spend money on and believe irrational concepts-palm readers, numerology, astrology, climate change, etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowsing

The market will put the divining people out of business if they are always wrong. Why would people in the same area keep hiring them if they are wrong? What are the "scientists" afraid of?