Joseph Cecil Maby | |
|---|---|
 Maby dowsing at River Leven, Fife | |
| Born | 1902 |
| Died | 1971 |
| Occupation(s) | Physicist, dowser |
Joseph Cecil Maby (1902-1971) was a British biophysicist, dowser and psychical researcher.
Maby was born in the Colony of Natal and moved to England as a child. He lived near Cheltenham. He believed that he had experienced paranormal events at his family's home. He developed a lifelong interest in psychical research.[1]
With physicist T. Bedford Franklin, Maby wrote the book The Physics of the Dowsing Rod (1939).[2] They postulated that dowsing occurred due to some form of radiation. A review in Nature noted that there is "no direct evidence for such waves and the author's discussion of their polarization cannot be justified on our present physical knowledge."[3] Psychologist Donovan Rawcliffe wrote that claims in the book have no scientific validity.[4]
Maby was a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.[5] He was a member of the British Society of Dowsers and Society for Psychical Research.
- ^ Wilson, Neil. (2000). Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British Supernatural Fiction, 1820-1950. British Library. p. 334. ISBN 0-7123-1074-6
- ^ Gardner, Martin. (1957). Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science. Dover Publications. p. 103. ISBN 0-486-20394-8
- ^ Anonymous. (1940). The Physics of the Divining Rod. Nature 146: 150.
- ^ Rawcliffe, Donovan. (1988). Occult and Supernatural Phenomena. Dover Publications. p. 358. ISBN 0-486-25551-4
- ^ "Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society". May 8, 1925.