The author displays ignorance of the topic in alleging that no one has addressed whether mere algorithms per se should be patentable. Case law has discussed thi

The author displays ignorance of the topic in alleging that no one has addressed whether mere algorithms per se should be patentable. Case law has discussed this repeatedly and made clear that a mere algorithm per se can't be patented. See e.g. Gottschalk v. Benson, a U.S. Supreme Court case from 1972.