To the editor:

I am unhappy to see the Record pushing pseudoscience,
in Valerie Hill's June 10 article about dowsing.

Not a single skeptical word could be found in her gullible
treatment.  

Scientific tests have shown repeatedly that dowsers do not
perform better than pure chance.   The ideomotor effect
causes a dowser's stick to dip -- it has nothing to do with
magnetic fields.  

Macarthur prize winner James Randi offers $1 million to anyone
who can exhibit paranormal abilities in a repeatable fashion.
Dowsers have repeatedly attempted to win this prize, but all have
failed.  


Jeffrey Shallit
Kitchener