I guess I might have been overly broad in my comment. I guess I just wanted to point out cases where a patent feels ridiculous because the process is sufficient

I guess I might have been overly broad in my comment. I guess I just wanted to point out cases where a patent feels ridiculous because the process is sufficiently difficult to replicate (e.g. cooking a recipe or doing a stand-up routine). Furthermore, the process in question needs to have sufficient demand such that an economy of scale actually has incentive to produce this product at large volumes. I think there is a stronger case for patents for processes that can be easily replicated, reverse engineered, and made profitably at scale (this is a key factor IMO), like lightbulbs or batteries or something. Even then though, I think there are cases to be made that patents still may not provide benefit. For example, why do people still buy Advil or Tylenol over a generic brand, is it perhaps trust in the brand and confidence in the purity and safety of the product?