>Though I struggle not to be equally suspect than this is also just hopeful thinking.
I think we all do. Certainly, I struggle with that as well. I think this is an inherent property of undecidable questions (contrary to most well-formed scientific theories, which are valuable precisely because they can distinguish themselves from hopeful thinking).
Here's something to consider: some kind of hopeful thinking may be a fundamental psychological need. When I saw the title of this HN post, I had thought that perhaps this was the question that ketamine researchers were considering, but alas not.
