Précognition

The scientific research on the précognition

Scientific research, carried out under controlled conditions, would have highlighted, according to the parapsychologists and those which follow them, of the effects which could be interpreted in term of précognition.

One will notice in particular work of Dick Bierman, of the university of Utrecht, on the Pressentiment in which various bio-physiological variables of subjects, to which various slides are shown, are recorded. Dick Bierman has highlighted that before visualization from certain images (in particular when they are of violent nature), one obtained an excitation on the level of bio-physiological measurements whom one does not find for the neutral images. One should normally record such variations after the visualization of the image, but not front.

Dick Bierman in fact does not know itself how to explain this effect but the question poses of knowing is it is not a question of perceptions psi, of précognition. This same effect could be highlighted in the layouts carried out during more traditional experiments of cognitive psychology and in which the researchers had simply studied the reactions after visualization of an image.

Other work relating to the précognition was carried out, in particular at the time of protocols of remote Vision with the Stanford Research Institute.

To give an account of such phenomena, it would be necessary to give up the Law of causality in physics. Being given the central role of this axiom, and the effectiveness of current physics, one can seriously question the quoted experiments.

Certain researchers put forth the assumption that these are the unconscious précognitives perceptions which can, in certain cases, to give place to forms of précognitions conscious concerning of the events to come.

Cox made research in the years 1950. Its reasoning was the following: so people have précognitives capacities, they must be able to avoid certain accidents in an unconscious way. To study this assumption, Cox requires of various railroad companies to make the lists of passengers for all the trains having had accidents over one period of several years. It then compared the number of passengers in each one of these trains the day of the accident, the six days preceding it, 14 days before and finally 28 days front. Its research shows that statistically the number of passengers the day of the accident was lower than the other days acting as points of comparisons (the six days previous, 14 days front, 28 days front). If there is no skew in this research (none was highlighted, but the searchs for Cox caused only few reactions), such results seem not to be able to be explained by the probabilistic assumption, which reduces the précognitions to subjective impressions finding their origin in statistical coincidences.

But Cox itself admits that the scale of the study is well too weak to be conclusive. One can also suspect the existence of factors that Cox could not evaluate: for example it is possible that the companies apply a less Draconian safety when there is less of passengers.

Sources

E.W. Cox, " Precognition: Year Analysis, II, " Newspaper off the American Society for Psychical Research, 50,1956,97-107.

Précognition in the science fiction

The précognition is the major topic of the film Minority Report of Steven Spielberg. In addition to one idea of scenario (inspired by a news of Philip K. Dick), this subject is the starting point of a reflection on justice: is it legitimates to imprison for murder of the people designated by the précogs like future murderers, but innocent at the time of their arrest?

Let us quote also mutant Destinée in X-Men , quite as able to aim at a target by anticipating its attempt at dodging as to foresee the future major events for its close relations.

In the same way, the " direction araignée" of Spider-Man the danger in advance announces to him so effectively, even in the absence of any material sign, which he is regarded as functioning by précognition.

The Jedi of Star Wars are also endowed with précognition. If their visions of the future are rather random, their capacity with knowing where the shootings will go before even as the enemy does not decide to draw in fact from the frightening adversaries.

In the Televised series the 4.400 (of 2004 to 2006), which puts in scene people removed and missing during years, these last all are brought back the same day and neither aged nor to remember what occurred, although much has from now on paranormaux capacities. The end of the first season reveals that they were removed by the human ones of the future and were returned in order to avoid a future catastrophe for humanity. One of the 4.400, Maia Rutledge (interpreted by Conchita Campbell), is a gifted little girl of précognition.

In the televised series Heroes, among the " héros" , of the men having new capacities had with the change of their DNA, Isaac Mendez can draw the future.

Bonds

Internal bonds

External bonds

Article of Dick Bierman on the presentiment
précognition and causality " antidromique"

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