The Matter of Dowsing

http://www.randi.org/library/dowsing/

Dowsing is the art of finding underground water by extra-sensory perception. Sometimes tools, such as a forked hazel stick are used. When scientific tests do not support the dowsing phenomenon, dowsers offer a number of explanations for these failures. Discuss how these explanations are characteristic of the intuitive approach to knowing about the world around us.

Pseudoscientific Treatments for Autism

http://www.acsh.org/healthissues/newsID.620/healthissue_detail.asp

According to Herbert and Sharp (2001), autism is a relatively rare disorder marked by severe deficits in the ability to communicate, reason, and socialize. Moreover, they suggest that this disorder is a magnet for pseudoscience and discuss several pseudoscientific treatments. What are the common features of the pseudoscientific treatments mentioned in this article?