Postcognition, also known as retrocognition, is the alleged psychic ability to perceive or gain knowledge of past events or information that could not have been obtained through conventional means. Unlike memory, which relies on personal experience or learned information, postcognition involves accessing details about historical occurrences, people, or places that the individual has no prior knowledge of. This can manifest as vivid mental images, feelings, or direct knowing about events that transpired long before the postcognizant individual’s birth, or events they were not present for. It essentially allows for a “reading” of the past, as if witnessing it unfold.
The experiences of postcognition are often reported by psychometrists, individuals who claim to gain information about an object’s past or its previous owners simply by touching it. Other examples include mediums who recount detailed historical events during séances, or psychics who can describe scenes from an old building’s history. While challenging to verify empirically, anecdotal accounts suggest that postcognition can provide remarkably accurate and specific details about the past, sometimes aiding in historical research or criminal investigations when conventional methods hit dead ends. Like other psychic phenomena, postcognition pushes the boundaries of our understanding of how information is stored and accessed, suggesting a connection to a collective or energetic memory of events that have already transpired.
