h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I think this is a good entry - it's detailed and clearly written.

I do feel, however, that for the length of the entry, it might be easier to read/navigate if it were split into headed sections. You might want to run the punctuation past someone else as well, I'm not an expert, but some sentences seem to me to run on.

I wonder, also, if you could find/include something of the theory about why dousing works? You mentioned electricity, but expanding on that might be helpful.

Overall, very interesting. Thanks!

Cath

hi cath glad you liked my article it will be split into headed sections in the editorial stage if it gets passed for the edited guide.
I wrote a earlier piece that got in the edited guide, called "Pendulum Dowsing" which explains a bit on how it works if you would like to read it its here A893414

take care romi

"It is not known how many lives, both military and civilian, this simple technique has saved in its use in clearing minefields."

The tone of this sentence seems to imply that lots of lives were saved: but if it is not known, it could have conceivably saved no lives at all. Simply stating people are trained to do something does not prove its efficacy: I would personally like to see some concrete evidence of dowsing's success at clearing minefields. And I would ask: was it used on its own or in conjunction with other techniques?

I don't see that you have presented the evidence that dowsing "saves lives" as you state in your last paragraph.

Overall the article asumes that dowsing works and that we should accept it. There is little or no exploration of the sceptic's view (which I hold) that, at best, the jury is still out on this one.

Removing the assumptions that dowsing works or doesn't work would be a good idea. It could then be presented as a history of dowsing - if you included some links to evidence for and against dowsing, that might be a good idea too.

Sorry to be such a sceptic but I do think that such phenomena as dowsing are given too much leaway to be a little fuzzy in their presentation.

thats ok i can understand your concerns and i am in the middle of compiling a list of pro and anti dowsing sites which im hoping to add to my article
but where the clearing of minefields is concerned it is something i read and just noted down at the time, unfortunately up to now despite contacting many army and naval sites ive come up with no conclusive evidence of this so unless i find something concrete that particular bit will be deleted

romi