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Precognition
Anomalous knowledge of future events before they occur. Includes 'presentiment' — unconscious physiological anticipation of unpredictable stimuli measured via skin conductance and heart rate.
Key Statistic
Presentiment meta-analysis: physiological response 1-3 seconds BEFORE stimulus (26 studies, p = 0.00004)
What if your body could sense disturbing images before your computer randomly selects them - and some experiments suggest it actually can?
Honesty Dashboard
The instrument, not the argument
✔Strongest Evidence
Meta-analyses of presentiment experiments show small but consistent effects across multiple studies, with odds against chance of thousands to one
Daryl Bem's 2011 study found statistically significant results across nine experiments involving over 1,000 participants
Some studies show physiological responses (heart rate, skin conductance) occurring before randomly selected emotional stimuli
Independent replications by different research groups have occasionally reproduced positive results
The consistency of small effect sizes across different experimental paradigms suggests something beyond random chance
5 points
⚠Strongest Criticism
Many replication attempts have failed to reproduce the original positive results, suggesting the effects may not be reliable
The effect sizes are extremely small and may be explained by subtle experimental flaws, data analysis issues, or publication bias
No plausible mechanism exists in current physics to explain how information could travel backward in time
Statistical techniques used in some studies have been criticized as potentially inflating significance levels
The 'file drawer problem' - negative results may be less likely to be published, creating a false impression of positive evidence
5 points
?Open Questions
Can the positive results be consistently replicated using pre-registered protocols and larger sample sizes?
What role do individual differences, belief systems, and experimenter effects play in precognition experiments?
How might quantum mechanics or other physical theories potentially explain precognitive phenomena if they exist?
3 points
Scientific Consensus
Supportive63.7%
Possibly Supportive9.6%
Mixed / Inconclusive2.7%
Not Supportive24%
Related Studies (411)
Universal threads: Shared sociopolitical roots and consequences of extrasensory perception and pseudoscientific beliefs(2026)
Tier 4 — PreliminaryA Neurocognitive Framework to Explain Apparent Extrasensory Perception & Object Identification under Blindfold Conditions(2026)
Tier 4 — PreliminaryOutcomes of Preregistered Studies Related to Extra-Sensory Perception, and Mind-Matter Interaction: A Systematic Review(2025)
Tier 4 — PreliminaryArguments for Recognizing the Future as Non-Probabilistic: Considerations in the Framework of a Hypothesized Precognition Theory(2025)
Tier 4 — PreliminaryTesting Noetic Potential in Large Language Models: A 100- Trial Precognitive Forced-Choice Study with ChatGPT-4.1-Mini(2025)
Tier 4 — PreliminaryExtrasensory Perception and Digital Connectivity: Manifestation and Validation of Telepathy in Networked Society(2025)
Tier 4 — PreliminaryLearning Latent Profiles via Cognitive Growth Charting in Psychosis: Design and Rationale for the PRECOGNITION Project(2025)
Tier 4 — PreliminaryA Forced-choice Precognition Experiment with Selected Cohorts(2025)
Tier 3 — BronzeUnveiling the EEG signatures of extrasensory perception during spiritual experiences: A single-case study with a well-renowned channeler(2025)
Tier 4 — PreliminaryMore than just a magic trick? Exploring an audience's supernatural attributions for magicians' performances(2025)
Tier 3 — BronzeOn the Philosophical Origins of Greimassian Semiotics(2025)
Tier 4 — Preliminary“PRESENTIMENT OF INEVITABLE” OR “SENSELESS DAYDREAMS”: UNREALIZED EXPECTATIONS AS THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF HISTORICAL EXPERIENCE(2025)
Tier 4 — PreliminaryOur brains sense the future through a new quantum-like implicit learning mechanism(2024)
Tier 4 — PreliminaryDo ‘Altered States of Consciousness’ have some correlation with Psychic Phenomena(2024)
Tier 4 — PreliminaryThinking Backwards about Time(2024)
Tier 3 — BronzeChildhood Trauma and the Emergence of Precognitive Abilities: A Correlational Study(2024)
Tier 3 — BronzeThinking with Cormac McCarthy(2024)
Tier 4 — Preliminary“Tragic Presentiments”: Maksim Gor΄kii and the Invention of Soviet Humanism(2024)
Tier 4 — PreliminaryLexical Expression of Presentiment in Mongolic Languages(2024)
Tier 4 — PreliminarySocial Construction of a Healthy Persolnality: Reasonable Dilemmas and Pseudoscientific Approaches(2024)
Tier 4 — Preliminary