Here’s a piece from the BSD journal written by the late Dan Wilson, a very experienced dowser and engineer, who reflected much on the “mechanics” of dowsing.
“The failure of dowsing under test” :
http://www.dowsing-research.net/blog_extracts/BSDP_No280_2003_p3.pdf
Here he reflects on why dowsers seem to perform so badly in “scientific” trials, in contrast to their performance when dowsing in whatever “area” they specialise in. When one reads of the experiences of dowsers, their successes can be rather striking, but one does not get this same perception from the published studies on dowsing, see:
http://www.dowsing-research.net/
Wilson suggests that dowsers often put their failure down to the hostility of the investigator, an example of whom he gives as James Randi. Randi was offering a financial prize for those who could demonstrated any type of psychic ability. Wilson refers to Randi’s test of dowsers, which was broadcast on British TV in 1992. The footage of this survives and may currently be found on YouTube:
“Dowsing (1991-08-07) – James Randi – Psychic Investigator”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le1qisF3j-o
The two dowsers tested were successful overall in performing the set tasks. They were members of the BSD and both were very gifted dowsers. Wilson attributes their success to them applying a form of psychic “protection” (see below) from Randi’s detrimental and sceptical intent.
In his article, Wilson concentrates on those practicing complimentary medicine, a field he was very familiar with. He reflects on why studies performed by the dowsing practitioners themselves also may fail to show very little or no effect. He refers to a 2002 study by “FACT”, (it is not clear what organisation this acronym represents). In this study run by a homeopathic institution, the participants, several homeopaths, failed to perform a given dowsing task. See the following:
“Can homeopaths detect homeopathic medicines by dowsing? A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial”,
He suggests that the principle cause of failure is because dowsing is a mental operation, and the dowser’s intention is different when they are under test, from when they are engaged in their normal work, in which they seek results in a confident and focussed manner. In this latter case the dowser accepts without question, that dowsing will produce the required results. This contrasts with dowsing under test, where the purpose is to demonstrate that dowsing works. Mentally the dowsers do not “own” the test, (they give up ownership to the investigator instead). And as he points out, the results of any trial can then be subject to the expectations of the investigator (the psi-mediated “experimenter effect” in parapsychology), or even the expectations of any larger group. Interestingly then, Wilson seems to imply that it is the ability to take ownership of the dowsing task, that confers the “protection”.
Another reason for failure, and one that most dowsers might ascribe to, is the hostility of the investigator. This parallels findings in parapsychology, in which investigators with a belief in psi do better than those who hold no such beliefs. Again, this is a kind of psi-mediated experimenter effect. Perhaps closely associated with this, is what you might term “performance anxiety”, the stress of being evaluated while dowsing, and of not getting it right.
He identifies several other issues, and one of these is something that many dowsers have agreed with in their writings, the lack of a “need to know” can impair a dowser’s performance.
He concludes with the suggestion that rather than formally testing dowsers with “artificial” tasks, it would be better to conduct “field studies”, looking at the results dowsers obtain over time in their chosen field of expertise. For example, the work published by Betz:
“Unconventional Water Detection: Field Test of the Dowsing Technique in Dry Zones: Parts 1 and 2” :
Journal of Scientific Exploration, 9, 1, 1-43 (1995)
And
Journal of Scientific Exploration, 9, 2, 159-189 (1995)
In the absence of a comprehensive theory of psi functioning, the need to prove the existence of psi is always present. But repeating tests designed to demonstrate the effects seem increasingly pointless. Instead, more could be gained by viewing psi and its application through dowsing, as a goal-orientated process and best studied in the field and through the lived experiences of dowsers.