It was the books of the Platonists that first made it possible for him to conceive the possibility of a non-physical substance [Confessions VII.x.16], providing him with a non-Manichean solution to the problem of the origin of evil.
No one seemed able to conceive the possibility that Congress would go down the road to default.
The radicals of the 60s were able to conceive the possibility of a new mode of human existence, but technology and the balance of global forces – class, race, inter-state rivalry – militated against achieving it.
When the mission was first conceived the possibility of methane on Mars, where it might signal life, was attracting a lot of attention; proving its presence would have been a big deal.
Not so long ago, Busch IV couldn't conceive the possibility of not succeeding "the chief," whom he idolizes.
"Simple logic dictates that if you cannot even conceive the possibility of leaving a negotiation, then it is preferable never to enter one," he wrote in a blog entry back in May 2010.
Thanks to the exceptional capability of the human brain, it is natural to conceive the possibility of building a super-intelligent computer that reproduces the neural networks of the human brain to completely overcome the von Neumann architecture, leading to the prosperity of artificial intelligence (AI).
The concept of "magic bullet" was first proposed by Paul Ehrlich at the beginning of the 20th century, when he conceived the possibility to have a selective compound, linked to a toxin, that would be able to discriminate and kill a disease-causing organism.
The minds that conceived of the possibility of evolutionary change were still informed by the religious assumptions that their new science was challenging.
Indeed, a legal opinion published by the ECB in 2009 argued that because European treaties did not conceive of the possibility of a country leaving the euro, an exit would require them to leave the European Union (EU) as well.
