Next area of study for Pentagon: "Spidey sense"

The U.S. Office of Naval Research pointed to sixth sense research about how “humans can detect and act on unique patterns without consciously and intentionally analyzing them,” according to a special notice posted on Feb. 29. It hopes to encourage such intuition in the brains of new soldiers, Marines and other troops with little or no battlefield experience.

Having intuition allows for split-second detection of patterns in the midst of uncertain scenarios — a possibly life-saving action in the face of an ambush or area rigged with roadside bombs…

The U.S. military also pointed to studies suggesting a sixth sense can arise from “implicit learning” — absorbing information without being aware of the learning process — rather than building up expertise through years of practice. Ordinary examples of implicit learning include bike riding, learning new languages or developing intuition about how other people may act.