Precognition
Precognition is a form of
extra-sensory perception. Believers in precognition say it allows a "percipient" to perceive information about future places or events before they happen (as opposed to merely predicting them based on deductive reasoning and current knowledge). A related term,
presentiment is used to refer to information about future events which may not present itself in conscious form but rather in the form of emotions or feelings at the autonomic level. These terms are considered by some to be special cases of the more general term
clairvoyance.
There is disagreement within
parapsychology as to the existence of precognition and the validity or interpretation of precognition related experiments.
Throughout history people have claimed to have precognitive abilities, and the "gift of prophecy" is a common feature of most religions. Just as prevalent are anecdotal accounts of precognitions from the general public, such as someone "knowing" who is on the other end of a ringing telephone before they answer it, or having a dream of unusual clarity with elements of content that later turn out to be events that actually occur. The French term,
déjà vu, meaning "already seen" was coined by
French psychic researcher,
Emile Boirac to describe the often eerie sensation, and its companion term, "future memory", was coined by
American Near-death experience researcher PMH Atwater in her
1996 book by the same title. While anecdotal accounts do not provide scientific proof of precognition, such common experiences motivate continued research.
Experimental research of precognition began at least as early as the work of
J. B. Rhine, and eventually came to be his preferred mode of conducting his tests. This was a variation of his famous card-guessing experiments in which the participant was asked to record his guess of the entire order of a card deck
before the deck was shuffled. Precognitive experiments have since been studied in a variety of formats by various parapsychologists, for example by the
remote viewing researchers, and at the
Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Lab (PEAR).
*A
precog is a shorthand for a fictional precognitive, who has an ability to foresee future happenings, or it may refer to the precognitive vision itself. It is often featured in the stories by
Philip K. Dick such as
Minority Report.
*
Jedi Knights, depending on their knowledge of the "force", often have precognition talents which lead to them to demonstrate adroit-reactions and dexterity, as they see physical changes in their environment before they happen and can anticipate them. Luke Skywalker sees his friends suffering and Yoda tells him 'It is the future you see'. Precognition is also used in battle when Jedi use their lightsabers to deflect blaster bolts, often back to the person who fired them.
*
Spider-Man's "spider-sense" is a limited precognitive sense.
*
Destiny of the
X-Men comics series has a precognitive sense.
*It appears briefly in
White Palace, but is not a major plot element.
*In the anime
Weiss Kreuz (Knight Hunters),
Brad Crawford, the leader of opposing group Schwarz, has the gift of precognition. Accordingly, his little-used codename is "Oracle."
*
Rei Hino of
Sailor Moon had Precognitve sense due to her miko powers.
*
Maia Rutledge a child featured in the
4400 was sent back from the future with precognitive abilities, and is commonly referred to as a precog by other characters.
*Johnny Smith of
The Dead Zone has been gifted (or cursed) with precognition.
*Precognition is also used to rule humanity in Frank Herbert's
Dune series.
*
Radar O'Reilly of the TV show
M*A*S*H could always anticipate his commanding officer's requests, often walking in just before called, with the documents required already in hand. He was always aware of when the
Choppers were approaching.
*Milo, a character in Dan Abnett's
Ghaunt's Ghost series had similar abilities to predict incoming artillery barrages and superior officer's requests
*Joanna Star, a magically transgendered cheerleader from
The Wotch and
The Wotch: Cheer!, seems to have psychic/pregognitive abilities.
*Stephen King, uses precognition in some of his novels, most notably
The Shining and
The Dead Zone.
*In
Stargate SG-1, the
DNA Resequencer gave
Jonas Quinn precognition.
*In
The Matrix, the Oracle and later Neo both appear to have precognitive abilities. The exact nature of these abilities is questioned multiple times, but never fully explained.
*In
Supernatural, the TV Series, Sam has visions in the episode 'Nightmare.' At first he dreams of future events, then he has visions whilst awake. Towards the end of the episode he also discovers he has
Telekinesis, and after seeing a vision of his brother being killed, he instinctively moves a large dresser out the way when trapped in a closet, and promptly goes off to save his brother's life.
*In
The Power of Five by
Anthony Horowitz, the first of the five, Matt, could see into the future, but all his visions were of disasters.
*In
Final Destination, the character Alex has the ability to see disastrous events before they happen, particularly dealing with death of himself and people he knows.
*In
Final Destination 2, Kimberly has the ability to predict deaths.
*In
Final Destination 3, Wendy has a premontion of a roller coaster accident
*In
CLAMP's short-lived manga series
Legal Drug, Kakei, the owner of Green Drugstore, has the ability to see visions. Whether or not he can control these is unknown. His lover, Saiga, also refers to him as a precog.
*
Evidence for an anomalous anticipatory effect in the autonomic nervous system (PDF), Dean Radin, Boundary Institute, 1999.
*
Evidence for a retrocausal effect in the human nervous system (PDF), Dean Radin & Edwin May, Boundary Institute, 1999.
*
Time-reversed human experience: Experimental evidence and implications (PDF), Dean Radin, Boundary Institute, 2000.
*
The Conscious Universe, by Dean Radin, Harper Collins, 1997, ISBN 0062515020.
*
Future Memory, by PMH Atwater, Hampton Roads, 1999, ISBN 1571741356.
*
Premonition*
Anomalous cognition*
Déjà vu*
Time travel*
Pseudoscience*
Global Consciousness Project*
James Randi's $1,000,000 Challenge*
List of spirituality-related topics*
The Best Case for ESP? *
Failed Psychic Predictions for 1998*
Elizabeth Coyle Seer, graduate of Harvard Divinity School, abilities recognized by the Catholic church as 'Gifts of the Spirit.'
* [
1]site recounts experiences of precognitive psychic during his life as well as past and future lives
