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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.
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History
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).
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Precognition in fiction
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 (or perhaps fan created) codename is "Oracle."
Maia Skouris, 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/precognitive abilities.
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 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. Firstly through visions, and later through signs, which girlfriend Clear Rivers is eventually able to do.
In Final Destination 2, Kimberly has the ability to predict deaths, with numerous recurring visions.
In Final Destination 3, Wendy has a premonition of a roller coaster accident, pictures she takes of the predestined to die also show how they die.
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.
In Heroes, Isaac Mendez has the ability to see and paint pictures from the future when he's high on heroin.
See also
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See also
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