Mandatory XKCD.[1]
If any of this stuff worked, there would be commercial applications by now.
If any of this stuff worked, there would be commercial applications by now.
Volcanos work, too, but there are no commercial applications of them, even though the energy contained within could power entire cities for years.
Even with known and proven natural phenomena of smaller dimensions than volcanos, harnessing them is a huge challenge. It was proven that some people can smell Parkinson's [1], and this is probably caused by changes in the sebum (skin oils) of the patient. There are likely other potential diagnoses by smell (lung cancer [2], infections [3]), but despite reading about future electronical noses for about a decade, there are none deployed in clinical settings.
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/sep/07/woman-who-ca...
[2] respiratory-research.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12931-021-01835-4
Ex: Tracking Earth's seasons, inventing calendars, and adjusting agricultural practices. Or ancestors didn't control the tilt of the planet, but...
Criticism A: Lots of people claim to have made money off dowsing/clairvoyance for mineral exploration. Debunking them is nontrivial. McMoneagle would be a tough nut to crack.
Criticism B: If an oil company is using an alleged clairvoyant such as McMoneagle, they are not likely to be candid and are not likely to cooperate with debunkers.
Criticism C: The market is frequently unfair and genuine working inventions don't always get to market.