The Copernican Revolution, an instance of perception re-engineering

The Copernican affirmation that the earth was indeed spherical and not flat led to a spurt of geographical explorations and discoveries in the 16th century AD. This is a historical example of how perception broke an age-old myth and enabled mankind to overcome the fear of falling off the edge of the earth. Similarly, John F Kennedy's perception that the USA would be able to able to undertake a manned space expedition to the moon led to technological developments that actually enabled the feat.
It is certainly not an easy task to change perceptions as age-old conditioning and deeply held prejudices are involved. Often, interested parties would do all they can to prevent the new perception from capturing the imagination of the masses. The establishment in Copernicus's times too saw the view that the earth is round as a threat to their position. Nations have gone to war over the perception that they are a superior nation or race. As long as members of the so called higher castes perceive themselves to be superior, it will be difficult to rid India of the pernicious caste system. Police reform, too is a difficult process as the ruling political class in tandem with the higher bureaucracy are reluctant to release the control they exercise over the police in India and create conditions of autonomy, accountability and transparency for the police to function freely and effectively.