Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/522996
86 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } JUNE/JULY 2015 able to interact with these forces. On the other hand, when he was not magnetically shielded and freely able to interact with the environment, his ability to find water sources significantly increased. There are countless species all over the world that take the earth's geomagnetic fields to their advantage. Many birds, insects and other vertebrates can "tap in" to this field, giving them the ability to orient themselves in space and navigate long distances. Recently, scientists discovered that the ability of these animals to interact with the earth's geomag- netic fields is at least in part driven by light-sensitive chemical reactions with the protein cryptochrome (CRY) in their bodies. It is not clear whether humans also have this navigational ability; however, one recent study discovered that humans do possess the same protein found in other vertebrates that allow them to tap into this system. Known as human cryptochrome (HCRY), this discovery raises the question that humans may have the ability to interact with the geomagnetic fields of the earth, a previously unknown phenomenon. Could water dowsers perhaps have increased expression of HCRY in their bodies? Would higher HCRY levels allow dowsers to better "feel" the environment on a geomag- netic level and thus sense where there are geomagnetic field changes underneath them like when an underground water source is present? Piezoelectric Effect Another theory behind the ability of dowsers to detect underground water sources is related to the piezoelectric effect. The piezoelectric effect is the ability of an object to generate an electrical charge in response to a mechanical stressor. Some studies have found that bone is capable of producing this piezoelectric effect, even though it would be seemingly unnoticed by the individual undergoing the effect. Specifically, one study argued that when the dowser arms were relaxed, there was no detectable piezoelectric effect measured. However, when the dowser was actively gripping the rods, that resulted in mechanical stress being applied on the arms' bones and thus registering a measureable piezoelectric effect. Theoretically, as the dowser passes by an underground water source, there is a change in the electromagnetic field prompting a piezoelectric response by the bones (possibly onto the nerves) thus moving the rods. When I talked to Marc about his water divining practice, he told me that right before the rods cross, he can actually feel something in his body. He wasn't able to describe to me what that feeling was, but just that he could "feel something." Could Marc be feeling the geomagnetic force in his body? Could he be feeling the piezoelectric effect in his bones? As I explained all these possibilities to Marc, he said he could definitely accept those explanations. Ideomotor Action A different explanation for water dowsing is related to a more psychological element rather than physical. In describing the action of water dowsing, it has been suggested that the mechanism of action could be similar to that of a Ouija board. Some scientists have suggested that the movement of the Ouija board, and in essence the divining rods, is powered by what is known as ideomotor action and not the work of spirits or other external forces. Ideomotor action is basically a phenomenon where the action of an individual is controlled unconsciously by a thought and not as a response to any extrasensory stimuli. In other words, without your even realizing it, you push the Ouija indicator piece or turn the divining rods in toward each other yourself. As an example of this ideomotor phenomenon in a generalized version of water dows- ing, a professor at the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati performed a mini-exper- iment on one of his classes using a cup of water and a cup of sugar. After demonstrating how water dowsing worked and having a few students practice on the cups, he secretly switched the position of the cup of water for the cup of sugar. When the students tried the exercise again, the rods still crossed over the cup of sugar where the cup of water used to be located prior to the secret switch. The professor concluded that the action of the rods were not caused by the water, but was in fact caused by the unconscious expectation of the students of where they remembered the water cup to be previously.