Oakleaf, your Harangi/ESP thing has been explained by psychologists. Many think that the basis of intuition is the accumulation of subconscuious memories and experience. Our brains retain a lot of stuff we cannot consciously remember. Under hypnosis, people have been shown to recall sights, sounds and smells from their past, that they could not consciously bring to mind.
Instinct happens when the subconscious brain makes an association of these memories, deduces something, and passes the result to the conscious mind without giving the reasons for it. The conscious mind just all of a sudden knows something, and usually it feels really certain about it.
The more experience you have in a certain area, the better your instinct becomes. A veteran linebacker can consciously "read" an offense, but the ones who go to the Pro Bowl are the ones whose instincts give them the extra edge that leads to sacks and interceptions.
The same goes for cops. My sister in law's late husband T.J. was a Texas Ranger. He told me that he was once after a really bad-ass pachuco, a guy who'd cut up a couple people in a bar brawl. T..J. was walking through a bunch of migrant worker's shanties, looking for Mr. Pachuco, when for no reason he can remember, he turn around just as Mr. Pachuco was about to swing a 2 by 4 at his head. The 12 gauge convinced Mr. Pachuco that it was a bad idea to hit a Texas Ranger. T.J. always said it was law officer's instinct that made him turn around when he did. Personally, I think his subconscious recognized the scent of fear from a desperate, cornered man, and maybe even felt the stirring of the air as the guy moved.