We all know that when we see a shark fin, or the silhouette of a shark below the boat, it means there is a shark in the water. That much is obvious. However, what about if you can’t see the fin or silhouette? Is it possible to predict if there is a shark in the water?
I believe there is certainly a possibility, but without some well-performed and difficult to achieve double-blind studies, it would be impossible to answer for sure. However, we can analyze some possibilities to see if it is possible or not.
Perhaps it is possible that your subconscious mind which has access to the finer senses, like being able to hear things which are too soft to consciously hear but that your subconscious mind can process the information, or such as a slight shadow underwater that you don’t consciously pick up but your subconscious mind recognizes, can alert you to the presence of a shark.
Under this logic then it is within the realm of possibility that perhaps someone, especially someone who is more attuned to dangers lurking underwater (such as a surfer or diver, for example), might be able to sense a nearby shark due to picking up on subtle sensory input that is too subtle to consciously detect but which their subconscious mind can detect and as a result will, upon sensing danger, will send fear signals to the brain resulting in effectively “sensing” the shark even though you did not consciously hear or see it.
So what are the possibilities of being able to sense a shark? First we must ask how are you sensing the shark. There are only the following ways to sense the shark:
- Sight
- Sound
- Touch
- Smell
- Taste
- Theoretical sensing of electromagnetic energy
- Theoretical sensing of energy unknown to science
- Supernaturally divined knowledge/sense (such as a message or feeling given by God)
- Hypothetical/theoretical 6th sense (clairvoyance, other supernatural senses)
So by one or more of these ways, it is potentially possible to detect/sense a nearby shark, even if you have not directly seen or heard the shark.
Additionally, there is another factor. Especially someone like a surfer or diver who is well tuned to the conditions of the ocean/sea, some people may be possible to have a red flag go up that a shark is nearby due to various conditions.
For example, perhaps on a subconscious level a person realizes, although not consciously, that certain weather conditions, or times of day, or other environmental factors, are the optimal conditions for a shark, which could subsequently cause the subconscious to send a signal to the person’s brain saying to get out of the water because a shark might be nearby.
For an illustration, consider you are in the woods deep in the forest, you don’t notice the birds stopped chirping but your subconscious does, you know something is wrong so you get a sense of danger. And there is a bear or wolf nearby. So you sensed the danger based on environmental factors.
Likewise, perhaps seagulls flew away and the fish left, and even though you didn’t consciously notice because it is a subtle change, your subconscious noticed and alerted you that something is wrong. So you can detect a potential nearby shark in this manner.
Another condition along the same lines is perhaps your subconscious, especially for a person more in tune with the ocean, might sense blood or some other sense not directly relating to the shark, but that could cause a shark to be nearby. And likewise the subconscious sends a signal to the brain as a result of this subconscious sensory analysis and says they may be danger nearby.
Or perhaps humans have some ability to detect electromagnetic energy that is currently unknown to science, which allows people to detect the presence of a shark’s energy. If so, then it would be likely that people who are more familiar with live sharks in person (such as someone who works at an aquarium), would have a better chance at detecting the shark then someone random, since they are familiar with the sharks’ electromagnetic energy signature. Of course, this possibility is merely conjecture, so this is just a theory which is not currently backed by science as far as I know. I kind of just came up with this myself.
There is also certainly a possibility that God may send a person a message or a feeling that causes them to get out of the water due to some unknown fear, and this would be completely supernatural, not the subconscious detection of a natural sense. Perhaps it was not your time, or God wanted to save you from some great trauma. Who knows why and how God works, because the Creator of the world (God) is mysterious to us mere humans.
Or perhaps you have a sixth sense, an ability to sense the beyond, or predict the future or other clairvoyant aptitude. Personally, I don’t believe such things exist, beyond spiritual gifts given by God. This last one is potentially in the realm of fantasy.
So there are many ways that you can sense a shark, and any of the above things are possibilities – some more certain than others. However, you cannot rely for certain on anything other than your conscious mind. If you see a shark fin or silhouette, get out of the water. Keep awareness of other swimmers if you are at the ocean, so you can see if another swimmer starts to freak out then you better get out of the water.
If you feel a rough skin brush by your leg, it is time to get out of the water. And lastly, don’t go into deep water or the open ocean unless you are highly trained and have a good reason for being there (such as ocean research). These are the surest ways to not have to sense a shark in the first place and avoid them.
Just remember one last thing: more people die from car accidents and other things every day then they do from getting bitten by sharks. In fact, sharks are magnificent, primal creatures and should be admired (and respected), not hated. Sharks do great things for the ocean’s ecosystems, and are a wonderful creation. Sharks are great, and the chances of actually encountering a shark besides at the aquarium, are slim to none, especially if you take the appropriate precautions. Hope this helps and safe swimming!
I experienced being “bumped” by a large sea creature with rough skin while in four feet of water. I now restrict all my water adventures to my bath tub.
It could have been a manta ray, or just a big fish. The ocean is a big place, so it could be just about anything. Don’t worry about it too much.
I had an experience like that before. And it was true and exactly where I was shown it was. And yes, a man’s life was spared because of it. Email me and I can send you the YouTube link of the interview where I told the entire story.
Hi, I just came upon your site as I was searching for answers to an experience I had while diving off San Clemente Island in So. Cal. I was in the water about 15′ down with my buddy who was swimming along the bottom, probably 30′ down. I had trouble clearing my ears hence the distance. All of a sudden from the middle of my brain came an alert that not only was there a shark in the water but I knew exactly which direction it was at. I was now swimming backwards facing the sharks direction and keeping an eye on my buddy on the bottom. There was no sighting of a shark at all, just this overwhelming knowledge of where and what it was. Nothing happened, we returned to the boat and chatting with the Captain, he said that he’d gone in after we had and was spearfishing when he saw “the man in the gray suit” ( a euphemism for sharks on dive boats). He had been in the exact same place where I had sensed the shark! I’ve always wondered what sense I was using when I perceived this. Sharks are passive in their echolocation so they don’t send out signals that I might have received. Thanks for the post, I’m still curious.
Dorothy.
Interesting story! By process of elimination we know that at least consciously it could not be by sight. However, consider that the human mind is very powerful. Most of our information is processed by our subconscious mind and we never actually consciously thing about it.
If you are in a dark room and someone else enters the room but you cannot see them, often it is still possible to know because the subconscious mind is able to sense audible disturbances in the ambient atmosphere of the room. In other words, the displacement of the human entering will alter the ambient reflection of sound, especially if the night is not particularly quiet. If there is any sound bouncing around, from crickets to AC, the human mind is capable of distinguishing a displacement in the ambient sound causing a difference in the reflectivity of sound – so much so that some blind people can use echolocation to actually “see” by using sound.
To the untrained mind, the subconscious of any human is definitely capable of picking this up, helping them to know the presence of another person (or even animal) in the room with them, despite not seeing them or consciously hearing them – especially if you are not distracted.
On the other hand, studies have shown that humans cannot only sense presence in such a regard, but also are able to even sense when another human is staring at them. It is my hypothesis that the reason why is because humans are able to also sense brainwaves – which are actually electromagnetic interference. Devices can actually acurately measure electromagnetic fields emanating from the human skull – this is what an EEG does – and also an EKG does the same for the heart, which also emits an electromagnetic field outside the body.
Therefore my postulation is that in the case of another human looking at you, it is possible that the human mind is also able to sense electromagnetic fields – in the case, much like “reading thoguhts” except with real science to back it up – that is, electromagnetic fields.
It is worth noting that all of the universe is encompassed by the aether, which has actually been proven (disproving general relativity, but that is another topic). Because of the aether, in fact everything is in a way connected by the aether field – and the aether is what allows magnetic fields, electromagnetic fields, and radio waves to transmit through the air and space.
Therefore, due to these factors, it is scientifically plausible that despite not seeing the shark (because our visual acuity is limited, especially underwater), you may have dectected an audible displament of the shark in the water just by the space of the shark and its motion; alternatively, you could have, on a subconscious level, sensed a miniscule movement in the water due to the coming shark – again subsciously except in this case, through the tactiole senses.
Lastly, due to the fact that not only humans but also animals generate an electromagnetic field, it is possible that on a subconscious level your body was able to sense this electromagnetic field – and possible the intentions and energy of the hungry shark who was looking for its next prey – you.
Of course, it’s also possible that it was an act of God or divine inspiration. However, despite that I do believe in such a thing, I think it is more likely in this case that there is a scientific explanation – probably, a subconscious sensing through sound (ambient displacement, or actual sound since sound travels farther through water), touch (feeling the miniscule water shockwave from the approaching shark), electromagnetic sensing, or even some unknown phenomena such as something relating to the aether or quantum fields.
Thanks very much for your reply, very thought provoking. Wish I knew what sense that was so I could learn to develop it. Always been curious about the sense of being stared at as well.
I had an experience like that before. And it was true and exactly where I was shown it was. And yes, a man’s life was spared because of it.
I can sense a shark when I see the fin above water ahhh!