The Credibility Of Dowsing: Scientific Proof Of Water Dowsing - Paperbackby Nigel Percy (Editor), William Barrett (Author) Skeptics say that dowsing has not been proven to work. They are wrong. Many years ago, William Barrett, Professor of Physics at what was later to become University College Dublin, embarked on the most detailed review and analysis of water dowsing ever undertaken. Originally a skeptic, he found enough unexplainable anomalies to intrigue him into diving deeper. At first, he hoped simply to disprove the