Daniel Peterson, Water Dowser

[drumdude]

I got a request for more information about Peterson and water dowsing. I figured I'd post the response here so it benefits everyone. It seems the good doctor has stopped talking about it, and switched over to near death experiences. I think he believes NDE are more credible and less subject to ridicule.

I imagine his thought process is something like, "if I could douse for water, then I am more justified in my belief that the Book of Mormon and other magical things are true."

Here's his infamous first hand-account of water dowsing from 2015:

I found water running through a buried pipe of which I was unaware. I didn't even know I was looking for anything.

I was simply told to allow the two metal rods free play.

They crossed at a certain point, then uncrossed. It was very distinct.

Only after repeating that several times was I told that a clay pipe ran under the floor right where the rods crossed.

I had several other people undertake the same experiment throughout that day. With one exception, they all had the same experience. (The one exception was a big burly mechanic with huge hands. I suspect that he didn't allow the rods free enough movement.)

I wasn't expecting what happened. Nothing in my worldview predicted it. It didn't fit my scientific notions, and nothing in my beliefs depended on it happening.

Yet it happened.

I found it very strange and unsettling.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeters ... 2188051209

The comments from Reddit are pretty great:

https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comme ... uccess_at/

His approach to dowsing apologetics is the same as his approach to Mormon apologetics.

"You may not like my unsupportable claims, but I know what I've experienced, and I don't care to know if I'm wrong. But I will treat you with unbearably supercilious snottiness if challenged."

I don't fault Peterson for having his experience with the dowsing rod and thinking, wow, something is going on here. But unfortunately, instead of investigating and applying scientific principles to really figure out what is going on, he doubles down on defending that "something" as being real. The scientific method is counter-intuitive. We live our lives according to our lived experiences, by anecdotal evidence. The scientific method gives us a way to step outside our biases and test our assumptions. Most water dowsers probably aren't intentional frauds, they sincerely believe in their abilities, even in this modern enlightened age.

[drumdude]

If you'd like to see a self-proclaimed Dowser tested on live television, there is a wonderful old video of it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RtJ0yJL4tg


Kudos to the dowser being brave enough to let Randi test him. We all know DP would never accept such a challenge.

[Rivendale]

If you'd like to see a self-proclaimed Dowser tested on live television, there is a wonderful old video of it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RtJ0yJL4tg


Kudos to the dowser being brave enough to let Randi test him. We all know DP would never accept such a challenge.

When I first seen him describe this process I thought he was joking. I thought, how can a guy get his phd and think this is a real thing? I thought of all the work that James Randi had done with Peter Popoff and Uri Geller exposing their tricks. James had exposed dowsing way back in the 70's and here you have Dan thinking he has witnessed another realm. Unbelievable.

[Alphus and Omegus]

That's pretty hilarious. Thanks for posting. It really detracts from his contrived persona of being someone interested in "just the facts."

The idea that dowsing is real is a testable hypothesis. So it's no surprise that he did not choose to actually do a scientific investigation of it. I also find it amusing that he assumed that whoever told him about the pipe was correct. He didn't specify how they could have known of it.

[drumdude]

That's pretty hilarious. Thanks for posting. It really detracts from his contrived persona of being someone interested in "just the facts."

The idea that dowsing is real is a testable hypothesis. So it's no surprise that he did not choose to actually do a scientific investigation of it. I also find it amusing that he assumed that whoever told him about the pipe was correct. He didn't specify how they could have known of it.

He wasn’t even a bit intellectually curious to investigate further. I would want to put the dowsing rods into a rolling holder that I could push around the area to make sure I wasn’t influencing the rotation. But Dan? Nope, he felt what he felt and this just confirmed his preexisting beliefs!

[Rivendale]

That's pretty hilarious. Thanks for posting. It really detracts from his contrived persona of being someone interested in "just the facts."

The idea that dowsing is real is a testable hypothesis. So it's no surprise that he did not choose to actually do a scientific investigation of it. I also find it amusing that he assumed that whoever told him about the pipe was correct. He didn't specify how they could have known of it.

He wasn’t even a bit intellectually curious to investigate further. I would want to put the dowsing rods into a rolling holder that I could push around the area to make sure I wasn’t influencing the rotation. But Dan? Nope, he felt what he felt and this just confirmed his preexisting beliefs!

DCP: I found it very strange and unsettling.

Even he can smell BS. He is an atheist at heart.

[Alphus and Omegus]

Even he can smell B.S.. He is an atheist at heart.

Every religious person is an atheist about other people's gods.

[dantana]

Bent wire rods do move/rotate in ones hands when walking. I have no idea why, but I do not assign it to god or woo. I am confident though that it is not a subconscious manipulation of the rods by ones hands as there is no mechanical way for the hands to create that action.

It's a simple thing to try for oneself with a couple of bent coat hangers. It's not very good at locating water but is handy when trying to find dog poop since one is focusing on looking at the rods instead of where you're walking.

[drumdude]

Bent wire rods do move/rotate in ones hands when walking. I have no idea why, but I do not assign it to god or woo. I am confident though that it is not a subconscious manipulation of the rods by ones hands as there is no mechanical way for the hands to create that action.

It's a simple thing to try for oneself with a couple of bent coat hangers. It's not very good at locating water but is handy when trying to find dog poop since one is focusing on looking at the rods instead of where you're walking.

I’m a big believer in the laws of physics and the free market. If you find a way to violate one, you can make a lot of money in the other.

[Fence Sitter]

Dowsing is a lot like using a Ouija board. Both are a lot less effective when the operator is blindfolded.