The self-anointed Establishments in whatever profession have given themselves the authority to decree what is possible, and what is "Bah! Humbug! Utterly impossible!" (And when the impossible turns out to be possible, after all . . . well, they or another Establishment carries on, unchastened, unlearned.)
One example of the overturning of settled wisdom from my memory. Until 20 or so years ago, the medical establishment had settled the issue that stomach ulcers resulted from stress, and hence from too much acids churning about as a result.
When a couple of Australian medical researchers came up with an alternate theory--- that ulcers were the result of certain bacteria--- the medical "experts" came up with a collective "Impossible! Utter nonsense!"
Well, facts have a way of getting in the way of supposedly-settled wisdom, and now those Aussies and their upside-down concepts from way down under have been proven right, after all.
This isn't the place or space to cite other examples in a variety of fields. (Maybe another time, as the focus of my spiritual thrillers THE GRAIL CONSPIRACIES and THE LIFE AFTER LIFE CONSPIRACY is on exploring what possibilities are beyond the presently accepted norm.)
That said, here is one intriguing article on the topic of what is really possible, just out, from the Health and Wellness section of The Wall Street Journal, by Shirley S. Wang. See also the two visuals that accompany it.
"Why Placebos Work Wonders From Weight Loss To Fertility, New Legitimacy For 'Fake' Treatments"
But, you might ask, why would these "experts" within whatever Establishment, people of credentials and expertise, totally deny possibilities, and cling to those denials . . . as long as possible?
To my mind, the answer is "they are invested." If they have spent years and multi-thousands in tuition learning the Established answers, then they are invested in those answers. Those gastro-intestinal specialists who had learned and used the old model--- ulcers come from stress --- had to face throwing all that "learning" out and starting over with an open mind.
And, speaking of "investments," what about the big pharmaceutical firms that are built around the model of coming up with more and more pricy drugs? What do you suppose the CEOs of those firms would think of the possibility that a mere placebo sugar pill and a change in patient mindset could do as much as one, or a bunch of, their hair-raisingly expensive prescription drugs?
Which brings us back to the old Roman maxim: Cui bono? Who benefits by the Establishment's usual outright refusal to consider the possibility that the Bah! Humbug! Impossible! just might be possible, after all? (Or possible at least in certain cases.)