Divine intervention: yes, water companies using dowsing really is that bad

It turns outthat water companies have been using dowsing to find damaged pipes, andthis is an extremely common practice. But is it a big deal? Yes, it is.OK, somost UK water companies have people who use divining rods to find leaks and burst pipes, although many havesince back-pedalled on these admissions since the story broke, thanks to the sterling work ofscience writer Sally Le Page, who deserves all credit for it. Understandable perhaps; if you were a major utility provider earning millions by providing an essential resource to large populations, you ’d probably be a bit embarrassed if people found out your highly-trained and expensive technicians wereessentially using witchcraft to fix problems.But, the expense and professionalism aspects aside, is it reallythatbad? Aren ’t people overreacting a bit? It’s not like they’re claiming they can cure cancer or speak to the dead or anything like that, effectively taking money from the grieving and desperate. So some technicians wander around a field waving twigs about in an effort to find a leak? Bit weird, but where ’s the harm? There must be something to it, surely? So what’s the harm?Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Science Science and scepticism Psychology Environment Source Type: news