The reading and the lecture are both about dowsing which is an old practice of finding hidden things such as underground water, oil, and buried treasures.

The reading and the lecture are both about dowsing which is an old practice of finding hidden things such as underground water, oil, and buried treasures. The author of the reading is confident about the success of this ancient practice. The lecturer, however, challenges that point of view. She is of the opinion that the successes of dowsers are questionable. To begin with, the author of the reading passage claims that dowsers are able to locate undergroud water by feeling the energy of its flow. This claim is challenged by the lecturer. She notes that this is against the laws of physics and it requires extraordinary evidence to prove it. Secondly, the author describes various instruments of dowsers and how they are used. The lecturer, however, argues that there are no instruments yet discovered that could detect such forces. She mentions the sophisticated instruments that are not at this technological level yet to illustrate that there is a huge gap between the technological advance and ability to detect the forces which dowser claim to be able to detect. Finally, the author posits that there are an enough number of testimonials of satisfied customers to prove the success of this ancient art. In contrast, it is mentioned in the lecture that such successes are simply the result of the probability theory. She elaborates on this by bringing up the point that anyone eventually could stumble upon undergroud water if trying hard enough.