Prescience


Moderators: Omphalos, Freakzilla, ᴶᵛᵀᴬ

Post Reply
User avatar
Naïve mind
Posts: 388
Joined: 26 Aug 2012 05:58

Prescience

Post by Naïve mind »

Is there anything in the novel to support or undermine the suggestion that the Bene Gesserit cultivated prescience among their ranks? We know that
  • They're at least breeding the KH for prescient sight. Makes sense that the ability would manifest itself amongst its members.
  • They're heavy spice users.
  • Prescience is fairly common, i.e. many of the members of Stilgar's tribe have the sight in a rudimentary degree.
On the other hand, for the longest time, I remembered Bene Gesserit truthsay as the art of predicting the future. And it is not, it's the ability to discern if someone is telling the truth. So the 'feeling' I had that the Bene Gesserit were all spice-addicted fortune tellers is obviously wrong. But maybe not entirely.
distrans
Posts: 483
Joined: 04 Jan 2013 01:06

Re: Prescience

Post by distrans »

what got you thinking truthsaying was a predictive process?
User avatar
Naïve mind
Posts: 388
Joined: 26 Aug 2012 05:58

Re: Prescience

Post by Naïve mind »

Misreading it, I suppose? For some reason, I had Mohiam pegged as the emperor's Seeer, and that impression went unquestioned for quite some time.
distrans
Posts: 483
Joined: 04 Jan 2013 01:06

Re: Prescience

Post by distrans »

careful,
the ideal that several mother superiors licked pussy might not go over so well


the fact that odrade was mother superior makes obvious that
the order and the proctors know they danced around the art
as they cultivated it

monsters

it was right for duncan to flee
User avatar
Cpt. Aramsham
Posts: 204
Joined: 06 Oct 2012 11:11

Re: Prescience

Post by Cpt. Aramsham »

Mohiam seems to believe she can use the Dune Tarot to divine the future.
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: Prescience

Post by Freakzilla »

Cpt. Aramsham wrote:Mohiam seems to believe she can use the Dune Tarot to divine the future.
Jessica seems to have thought she had some kind of talent in that area:

Jessica paled. "Is there no alternative?"
"Alternative? A Bene Gesserit should ask that?"
"I ask only what you see in the future with your superior abilities."
"I see in the future what I've seen in the past. You well know the pattern
of our affairs, Jessica. The race knows its own mortality and fears stagnation
of its heredity. It's in the bloodstream -- the urge to mingle genetic strains
without plan. The Imperium, the CHOAM Company, all the Great Houses, they are
but bits of flotsam in the path of the flood."

~Dune
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
User avatar
Naïve mind
Posts: 388
Joined: 26 Aug 2012 05:58

Re: Prescience

Post by Naïve mind »

Ah, and it seems that in Messiah, the economy of Arrakis is intentionally flooded with a Tarot set to encourage the inhabitants of Dune to exercise their limited prescience, in an attempt to muddle the vision of Paul and Alia. So not only do the Bene Gesserit believe that the Dune Tarot works, it actually does.

Good. Very good. Thanks for pointing this out.
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: Prescience

Post by Freakzilla »

Naïve mind wrote:Ah, and it seems that in Messiah, the economy of Arrakis is intentionally flooded with a Tarot set to encourage the inhabitants of Dune to exercise their limited prescience, in an attempt to muddle the vision of Paul and Alia. So not only do the Bene Gesserit believe that the Dune Tarot works, it actually does.

Good. Very good. Thanks for pointing this out.
IMO just believing in the Tarot would have an affect on the future, whether it really worked or not.

If people believe the oracle, the prophecy is more likely to come true.
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
User avatar
SadisticCynic
Posts: 2053
Joined: 07 Apr 2009 09:28
Location: In Time or in Space?

Re: Prescience

Post by SadisticCynic »

Freakzilla wrote:
Naïve mind wrote:Ah, and it seems that in Messiah, the economy of Arrakis is intentionally flooded with a Tarot set to encourage the inhabitants of Dune to exercise their limited prescience, in an attempt to muddle the vision of Paul and Alia. So not only do the Bene Gesserit believe that the Dune Tarot works, it actually does.

Good. Very good. Thanks for pointing this out.
IMO just believing in the Tarot would have an affect on the future, whether it really worked or not.

If people believe the oracle, the prophecy is more likely to come true.
Goddammit! I was gonna say something to that effect, then decided I was wrong. :evil:

Oh well, next time...
Ah English, the language where pretty much any word can have any meaning! - A Thing of Eternity
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: Prescience

Post by Freakzilla »

SadisticCynic wrote:
Freakzilla wrote:
Naïve mind wrote:Ah, and it seems that in Messiah, the economy of Arrakis is intentionally flooded with a Tarot set to encourage the inhabitants of Dune to exercise their limited prescience, in an attempt to muddle the vision of Paul and Alia. So not only do the Bene Gesserit believe that the Dune Tarot works, it actually does.

Good. Very good. Thanks for pointing this out.
IMO just believing in the Tarot would have an affect on the future, whether it really worked or not.

If people believe the oracle, the prophecy is more likely to come true.
Goddammit! I was gonna say something to that effect, then decided I was wrong. :evil:

Oh well, next time...
:lol: Maybe we're both wrong.

But think about it. How many times does FH say the oracle creates the future, not predicts it.
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
User avatar
JustSomeGuy
Posts: 791
Joined: 26 Feb 2011 03:02

Re: Prescience

Post by JustSomeGuy »

Naive mind wrote:Is there anything in the novel to support or undermine the suggestion that the Bene Gesserit cultivated prescience among their ranks?
Yes- they are Bene Gesserit.
I bring nothing to the table.
User avatar
SadisticCynic
Posts: 2053
Joined: 07 Apr 2009 09:28
Location: In Time or in Space?

Re: Prescience

Post by SadisticCynic »

Freakzilla wrote:
SadisticCynic wrote:
Freakzilla wrote:
Naïve mind wrote:Ah, and it seems that in Messiah, the economy of Arrakis is intentionally flooded with a Tarot set to encourage the inhabitants of Dune to exercise their limited prescience, in an attempt to muddle the vision of Paul and Alia. So not only do the Bene Gesserit believe that the Dune Tarot works, it actually does.

Good. Very good. Thanks for pointing this out.
IMO just believing in the Tarot would have an affect on the future, whether it really worked or not.

If people believe the oracle, the prophecy is more likely to come true.
Goddammit! I was gonna say something to that effect, then decided I was wrong. :evil:

Oh well, next time...
:lol: Maybe we're both wrong.

But think about it. How many times does FH say the oracle creates the future, not predicts it.
Indeed, for me it was the fact that I didn't like the idea of the cards themselves affecting the future, since the cards aren't prescient. It had to be people's decisions and maybe even a little subconscious prescience that made use of the cards affect another prescient.
Ah English, the language where pretty much any word can have any meaning! - A Thing of Eternity
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: Prescience

Post by Freakzilla »

SadisticCynic wrote:Indeed, for me it was the fact that I didn't like the idea of the cards themselves affecting the future, since the cards aren't prescient. It had to be people's decisions and maybe even a little subconscious prescience that made use of the cards affect another prescient.
No, it doesn't have anything to do with the cards. But to a prescient it would seem like everyone on had their own individual oracle... if they believed in it.
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
User avatar
SadisticCynic
Posts: 2053
Joined: 07 Apr 2009 09:28
Location: In Time or in Space?

Re: Prescience

Post by SadisticCynic »

Freakzilla wrote:
SadisticCynic wrote:Indeed, for me it was the fact that I didn't like the idea of the cards themselves affecting the future, since the cards aren't prescient. It had to be people's decisions and maybe even a little subconscious prescience that made use of the cards affect another prescient.
No, it doesn't have anything to do with the cards. But to a prescient it would seem like everyone on had their own individual oracle... if they believed in it.
Right. I was trying to say it was the person using the cards that affected prescient vision, not the cards themselves.
Ah English, the language where pretty much any word can have any meaning! - A Thing of Eternity
User avatar
inhuien
Posts: 3638
Joined: 09 Feb 2008 05:03

Re: Prescience

Post by inhuien »

SadisticCynic wrote:
Freakzilla wrote:
SadisticCynic wrote:Indeed, for me it was the fact that I didn't like the idea of the cards themselves affecting the future, since the cards aren't prescient. It had to be people's decisions and maybe even a little subconscious prescience that made use of the cards affect another prescient.
No, it doesn't have anything to do with the cards. But to a prescient it would seem like everyone on had their own individual oracle... if they believed in it.
Right. I was trying to say it was the person using the cards that affected prescient vision, not the cards themselves.

Was that not a given, it was there usage that muddled prescience.
User avatar
SadisticCynic
Posts: 2053
Joined: 07 Apr 2009 09:28
Location: In Time or in Space?

Re: Prescience

Post by SadisticCynic »

inhuien wrote:
SadisticCynic wrote:
Freakzilla wrote:
SadisticCynic wrote:Indeed, for me it was the fact that I didn't like the idea of the cards themselves affecting the future, since the cards aren't prescient. It had to be people's decisions and maybe even a little subconscious prescience that made use of the cards affect another prescient.
No, it doesn't have anything to do with the cards. But to a prescient it would seem like everyone on had their own individual oracle... if they believed in it.
Right. I was trying to say it was the person using the cards that affected prescient vision, not the cards themselves.

Was that not a given, it was there usage that muddled prescience.
I think we were asking whether the Tarot actually worked, and thus muddled the prescient vision, or the person who uses the cards affects the vision.
Ah English, the language where pretty much any word can have any meaning! - A Thing of Eternity
User avatar
Freakzilla
Lead Singer and Driver of the Winnebego
Posts: 18449
Joined: 05 Feb 2008 01:27
Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Contact:

Re: Prescience

Post by Freakzilla »

It's belief in the oracle that makes it predictions more likely to come true, IMO.
Image
Paul of Dune was so bad it gave me a seizure that dislocated both of my shoulders and prolapsed my anus.
~Pink Snowman
User avatar
SandRider
Watermaster
Posts: 6163
Joined: 05 Oct 2008 16:14
Location: In the back of your mind. Always.
Contact:

Re: Prescience

Post by SandRider »

the Dune Tarot brought out latent prescient abilities
in those who would otherwise not have affected the
visions of Paul & Alia ... the problem was that the
Dune Tarot became "popular", sold by the cartons to
pilgrims in the suk ...
................ I exist only to amuse myself ................
ImageImage

I personally feel that this message board, Jacurutu, is full of hateful folks who don't know
how to fully interact with people.
~ "Spice Grandson" (Bryon Merrit) 08 June 2008
User avatar
Naïve mind
Posts: 388
Joined: 26 Aug 2012 05:58

Re: Prescience

Post by Naïve mind »

But it would probably only work on Arrakis, as there's spice there everywhere.

But, the Bene Gesserit are usually keen to develop human abilities to their maximal potential. Most humans have eyes, the Bene Gesserit have petit perception. Most people have muscles, the BG have prana-bindu training. Most people have a voice--the BG have the voice.

So, if some of their members have the ability to see the future, the Bene Gesserit would try to get the most out of that.
Post Reply