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From: <>
Subject: Re[2]: GRAVE WITCHING EXPLAINED!
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 12:35 -0500 (EST)


Terry:

As James "The Amazing" Randi, noted magician and supernatural de-bunker, has
shown many times, scientists are the easiest people in the world to fool with
magic tricks and hoaxes. Why? Because they believe that their powers of
observation are so great that you cannot trick them, that they will always be
able to see through your sleight-of-hand. Randi has gone so far as to have
helpers spend hours performing an amazing feat in front of a group of
scientists, letting them examine all facets of the activity - the scientists
usually declare the phenomenon to be evidence of unexplainable paranormal
activity. Minutes later Randi appears and reveals the secret of the trick to
the audience, who are devastated and speechless.

How do you know the schooltime witching wasn't set up ahead of time between the
teacher and the student? It seems like the teacher had something to prove. And
the knowledgable fellow who miraculously found all of the water mains certainly
got a lot of attention, didn't he? I'll bet his ability received a lot of
respect and admiration. Always check the motives of people performing miracles.

As I pleaded with Mr. Bill, I'll plead with you, please don't throw away your
scientific training in favor of pseudo-science, the stakes are way too high.
Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes, we must have open minds, but we have to
keep our principles in place in those minds as a framework for evaluating
unusual claims.

Fred Kelso

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: GRAVE WITCHING EXPLAINED!
Author: at ORL-SMTP-G
Date: 6/16/97 10:38 PM

As a petroleum geologist I am familar with your arguements - In the oil
business we called them doodle buggers. I formerly believed as you did. I.
E. - double blind tests usually result in the witcher not finding anything.
Therefore, all witching is a hoax. Sucess can be explained by the witcher
picking up subtle clues about the location of water, graves, etc. &
transfering that mental signal to a physical event - i.e.- the stick moving.
But explain this one.

In High School, we had a Civics teacher, a Mrs. Schuller, who wanted to
demonstrate water witching. From the window of a 50 year old school she
directed a classmate, Bruce Wiles by name, to walk with a Coca-Cola 6 oz.
bottle containing 2 bent rods (coat hangers as I recall). The bottle was held
with the bottle firmly with both hands against his stomach elevated just
enough for the rods to not fall out. He was directed to walk in a straight
line from the building towards the playground. There was no evidence of the
watermain coming into the building. At a given point [over the water main],
the two rods seperated by a couple of inches, or more [Bruce's hand was not
touching the rods]. Then Mrs. Schuller told Bruce to carefully place one foot
directly in front of the other, He did and the rods collapsed together.
Uncross his leg and the rods resumed the seperation. Bruce did not have a
clue of the location, therefore, he picked up no signals from the area. He
had his back to the teacher, therefore, he read no body language from her.
He was not touching the rods, so what made them move? I saw this
personally. I have never explained it in rational terms. Note: Carl Sagan,
the late skeptic and physicist, was reluctant to discredit all such
phenomena, alluding to the reaction of animals prior to an earthquake, in his
last book.

Case 2 - In the 20's and 30's there was a booming development south of Siloam
Spg, AR called Lake Francis, water lines criss crossed the rugged hills for a
mile in each direction. The development folded, a fire burned many houses,
but people continued to live there. The water tower leaked and the mains did
too. The water supply was a large spring. There was a fellow who would
trace out the mains witching them & finding the buried valves and cut off
that part of the system not in use anyway. Often he would have to dig thru a
thick layer of oak leaves and in scrub brush to find them.

The bias of no bias is a bias. We best maintain an open mind on the subject.

Terry Shields

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