Precognition is the claimed ability to perceive or know about future events by means other than inference from present information. Dreams, visions and hunches about the future appear in cultures worldwide. Since the late nineteenth century parapsychologists have tried to test precognition experimentally, but mainstream science considers the claim unsupported by reliable evidence.
Precognition at a glance
| Meaning | Latin prae (before) + cognitio (knowledge) |
|---|---|
| Related terms | Premonition, presentiment, second sight, prophecy |
| Classic book | J. W. Dunne, An Experiment with Time (1927) |
| Early lab research | J. B. Rhine, Duke University, 1930s |
| Well-known study | Daryl Bem, "Feeling the Future" (2011) |
| Scientific status | No replicable evidence under controlled conditions |
Definition and background
Precognition belongs to the group of alleged abilities that parapsychologists call extrasensory perception (ESP), alongside telepathy and clairvoyance. It differs from prediction based on knowledge: a weather forecast is not precognition, while an unexplained dream that seems to foresee a specific accident would be described as one. A premonition usually means a vague feeling that something, often bad, is about to happen.
Ideas of foreknowledge are ancient. Prophets, oracles such as the Pythia at Delphi, seers and dream interpreters were consulted across the ancient world, and divination methods such as crystal gazing and mirror divination were thought to reveal what was hidden, including the future. These practices were embedded in religious beliefs and were not attempts at scientific proof.
Systematic interest began in the late nineteenth century, when members of the Society for Psychical Research, founded in London in 1882, collected reports of apparitions, telepathy and premonitions and tried to evaluate them critically.
Famous claims and cases
In An Experiment with Time (1927) the British engineer J. W. Dunne described dreams that he believed contained details of later events and proposed a theory of time to explain them. He urged readers to record their dreams on waking and compare them with later experience. The book influenced writers such as J. B. Priestley.
After the Aberfan disaster in Wales in 1966, when a colliery spoil tip collapsed onto a school, the psychiatrist John Barker collected reports from people who said they had foreseen it. This led to the short-lived British Premonitions Bureau. Critics point out that such reports are gathered after the event, that many vague predictions are never matched to anything, and that memories can be unconsciously reshaped.
Laboratory research
At Duke University in the 1930s, J. B. Rhine and his colleagues asked subjects to guess the order of cards in a deck before it was shuffled. Rhine reported above-chance results, but critics identified problems including inadequate shuffling, sensory cues, recording errors and statistical issues, and other laboratories generally failed to reproduce his findings.
Later researchers used random number generators and physiological measures of "presentiment." In 2011 the social psychologist Daryl Bem published nine experiments in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology claiming evidence of precognition. Several independent replication attempts, including one by Stuart Ritchie, Richard Wiseman and Christopher French, found no effect. The controversy became an important example in the wider debate about statistics and replication in psychology.
From the late 1960s, the physicist Helmut Schmidt tested whether subjects could predict the output of electronic random number generators, and other groups used "remote viewing" protocols in which a person described a target location that would be chosen only later. Supporters reported positive results; critics found weaknesses in randomization and judging, and the findings were not independently established.
The scientific and skeptical view
Mainstream scientists consider precognition unproven. There is no replicable experiment showing it under controlled conditions, and genuine information from the future would conflict with well-established principles of causality in physics. Psychologists explain many reported experiences through:
- Coincidence and large numbers - with billions of dreams each night, some will match later events by chance.
- Selective memory - hits are remembered, misses forgotten.
- Retrofitting - vague impressions are matched to events after the fact.
- Unconscious inference - people notice subtle cues and anticipate outcomes without being aware of their reasoning.
Parapsychologists who continue the research argue that small effects deserve further study, but they have not produced results that convince the broader scientific community.
Precognition in esoteric and popular culture
In spiritual and New Age settings, precognition is often discussed as intuition or a "sixth sense" that can be developed through meditation, dream journals and attention to inner impressions. Related claimed abilities include psychometry and telepathy, discussed in our entry ten steps to master telepathy. Readers curious about intuition can try our intuition exercises, keeping in mind that they are for reflection and entertainment rather than proof of paranormal ability.
Precognition is also a staple of fiction, from Greek tragedy, where prophecies fulfill themselves, to modern novels and films that explore whether knowing the future would allow anyone to change it.
Curious to try a reading yourself? Our free psychic reading draws three tarot cards at random and interprets them for your question, with no email or signup. Want the evidence first? Read are psychic readings real?
Related entries
On The Mystica today: How to develop intuition · Psychic ability test
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between precognition and premonition?
Precognition usually refers to specific knowledge of a future event, such as seeing details of it in a dream. A premonition is a vaguer feeling or emotional sense that something is about to happen, often something bad. Both are claimed paranormal experiences, and neither has been demonstrated under controlled conditions.
Has precognition ever been scientifically proven?
No. Researchers from J. B. Rhine in the 1930s to Daryl Bem in 2011 reported positive results, but independent replications have generally failed and critics found methodological problems. The scientific consensus is that there is no reliable evidence for precognition, and ordinary psychological explanations account for most reports.
Why do people have dreams that seem to come true?
People have many dreams, and by chance some will resemble later events. We tend to remember striking matches and forget misses, and we may unconsciously adjust memories after the event. Dreams can also reflect worries and clues we already noticed, which makes some outcomes feel foreseen.
Sources and further reading
- Precognition · Wikipedia
- J. W. Dunne, An Experiment with Time (1927) · Book
This entry replaces an article from the original Mystica encyclopedia (online since 2001). It was rewritten from the sources above by The Mystica Editorial Team under our editorial standards. Last reviewed: September 30, 2026.