Captured at the James Randi Hotline http://www.mindspring.com/-anson/randi-hotline
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The January issue of the Smithsonian magazine ran a major article that is extremely shocking, bearing in mind the reputation of this periodical. It’s hard for me to imagine who on the staff of Smithsonian made the decision to run the piece. It’s a highly positive article on dowsing, a seven-page paean to the wonders that are accomplished with pendulums and forked sticks–such as choosing medications, vitamins and foods, finding water, deciding upon which “Personal” ad to answer, and even assessing videotapes for entertainment value!
The author of this trash writes, “The relationship between dowsing and established science has always been distant, mutually suspicious.” Nonsense! There IS NO RELATIONSHIP! Science is logic, rationality, careful investigation, and experimentation that works: dowsing is wishful thinking, superstition and mythology that doesn’t work. Was there any mention in this Smithsonian magazine article of the numerous carefully controlled tests of dowsing that have been done, tests that showed it was totally without merit? No, in the pages of this prestigious SCIENCE magazine, only anecdotal experiences are given, and blatantly unproven “theories” and “facts” from wide-eyed dummies who don’t know logic from lingerie.
