The Skepbitch is psychic

I read the news today oh boy about an airline pilot who died in-flight, enroute to Newark from Brussels. A tragic story indeed, although fortunately, the two co-pilots landed the plane safely.

How is this relevant to a blog about skepticism? Well…because I dreamt about this event before it happened!

Superficially, it might seem that I am psychic, but let’s hold off from the talk shows, tours and book contracts for the skeptic turned psychic (yet again), and analyze the story a little more closely…

I awoke in the wee hours of Monday morning, roused by a nightmare. I’d had a disturbing dream about a plane trip during which the pilot died mid-flight. The dream was Hollywood graphic, and the details were as clear as a George Orwell novel.

Upon waking I was drenched in sweat, and a little shaky, but I managed to quickly relax, realize it was just a dream, and doze off back to sleep without too much difficulty.

When I woke up again a few hours later, I recalled the dream. However, the specifics were now hazy; I couldn’t recall the airline, the origin or destination of the flight, or the name of the pilot; I could only remember the gist of the dream – a pilot died mid-flight.

Today, the news stations, newspapers and online sources reported the story of a pilot who died mid-flight!

Did I experience a prophetic dream?

But if you interrogate me a little further, strap me down to a chair, tie my hands behind my back, blindfold me, pull back my hair, come close to my quivering lips and…fuck, where was I?

That’s right! If you penetrate my story a little more deeply you’ll discover a hidden secret – the morning I had this dream, I was due to fly in a plane…

You see, I’m a tad nervous during the ascent, and liable to grab hold of the nearest person’s hand, stranger or not! I’m no fucking Freud, but I gather that my dream about the pilot dying mid-flight reflected my anxiety regarding my impending trip. Interestingly, I dreamt of a pilot dying mid-flight, and not a plane crash, or a flame-engulfed descent. But, flying is a loss of control for some people, and what greater loss of control than a pilot perishing in the cockpit?

For most psychics, this dream would be interpreted as a premonition.

But I didn’t dream about this event; I dreamt of an event.

Moreover, there was a rational reason for my dream – I was due to fly that day, and anticipating my own anxiety. The dream preceding a reality was more situational than synchonicity.

Coincidence is a curious phenomena. Noting the hits is okay, as long as we also remember the many misses; the many times we dreamt and forgot our dreams of people, places, mundane events, accidents and deaths that never occurred.