That is a great way of putting it Virginia.
It sounds like you have had the feeling of "knowing" things prior to their so called discovery.

I think this experience is not limited to people like Jules Verne, Tesla, Einstein or Witten but is in us all, depending upon the degree that ego obstructs the ability to "know" directly. Ego is not the only limiting factor. If one is unencumbered by the currently limited notions of time, information can be reconstructed with amazing facility.