We get this word from the
character of
Cassandra in
Ancient Greek stories. Cassandra was "
blessed" with the gift of
prophecy; that is, she knew what was going to happen.
Nobody would listen to her, of course,
rendering her
powerless to alter the
nasty future she saw, and as a result of this she
went a little schizy. This type of I-know-what's-going-to-happen-but-I-can't-stop-it
conflict has since been
named the Cassandra Complex.
I've come to
realize that almost
all children of
average intelligence or better
experience this
complex.