im not sure if its genetic or if it is something we are all capable of. but in some families it is nurtured more , as GW stated. in families where it is embraced or not feared it would be more acceptable as to ones where it is kept quiet or looked at as imagination and dampened down. another thought would be how much of it is purely instinctual. a "sixth" sense is seen in the animal kingdom in as much as they notice body movements and defensive postures, nervousness, etc. in others... (this is another sales tactic and hypnotist trick also, like anchoring. dont cross your arms, be higher up than the other guy etc.. which is then picked up on subconsciously by the other person.) a lot of these instincts we have lost or ignored because of the safer world we now live in. when you get a weird feeling, or the hair stands up on your neck, goose bumps, etc. are all primitive responses to danger. now they are usually ignored or just dismissed. so how many other senses have we just dismissed as not useful?.
when you live in a city environment with 24 hour lighting and neon everywhere lighting the night you will actually lose a large percentage of your night vision. you just dont rely on it anymore and it weakens. but go into a forest or desert for a few months and you will notice it return, where you cant see anything the first few weeks, within a couple months you will see in the dark almost as good as in daylight. same goes for almost all other senses. heck, the perfume industry makes all kinds of bets on what scent will activate its customers ability to once again smell pheromones...lol
so, yeah not sure if its hereditary, passed down, nurtured, or just something we have lost due to time and the environment we live in.
