[meteorite-list] OT: Dowsing is real, but exoplanets are dubious?!

From: Mike Hankey <mike.hankey_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 17 Oct 2010 18:44:15 -0400
Message-ID: <AANLkTinsXFQgzXHk0Fi_Tk-EskVMO=oqp-b+ZWgnK-h4_at_mail.gmail.com>

Rob,

I have it on good authority, dowsing is real.

"According to the New York Times, more than fifteen hundred remote
sensing devices have been sold to Iraq's Ministry of the Interior, at
prices ranging from $16,500 to $60,000 each. The devices are used for
bomb and weapon detection at checkpoints, and have no battery or other
power source. Sounds great, but according to a retired United States
Air Force officer, Lt. Col. Hal Bidlack, they work on the same
principle as a Ouija board ? the power of suggestion. He described the
wand as nothing more than an explosives divining rod. Even though the
device has been debunked by the US Military, the US Department of
Justice, and even Sandia National Laboratories, the Iraqis are
thrilled with the devices. 'Whether it's magic or scientific, what I
care about is it detects bombs,' said Maj. Gen. Jehad al-Jabiri, head
of the Ministry of the Interior's General Directorate for Combating
Explosives."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/world/middleeast/04sensors.html


On Sun, Oct 17, 2010 at 5:18 PM, Rob Matson <mojave_meteorites at cox.net> wrote:
> Hi Phil,
>
>> Your last statement is not true. It's very hard to find scientific
>> studies involving anything even remotely connected to the "paranormal"
>> (gasp!). Look into the German studies cited here:
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3ADowsing
>
> I read that abstract earlier in the week. If there were even a half-
> dozen such pier-reviewed papers, I would still consider it rather weak
> evidence given the magnitude of the importance of such a discovery if
> it were true. A sixth sense is an extraordinary claim -- where is the
> extraordinary evidence?
>
> What I wonder is why you don't have the same level of skepticism
> toward dowsing that you do toward black holes and exoplanets (which
> have ABUNDANT evidence in favor of their existence). Particularly in
> the case of exoplanets, the only legitimate reason for your skepticism
> would be personal unfamiliarity with the rather bullet-proof science.
> Exoplanets are just as real as planets in our own solar system.
>
> --Rob
>
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Received on Sun 17 Oct 2010 06:44:15 PM PDT