I don't think you can get more obvious in this day and age than adding "with computers" or "on the internet" to mundane, centuries-old ideas like "showing peopl

I don't think you can get more obvious in this day and age than adding "with computers" or "on the internet" to mundane, centuries-old ideas like "showing people things similar to what they are shopping for". To be honest, I think your argument supports the abolition of patents more than you think it does. EVERY idea was built on the back of previous ideas. "Novelty" is only a matter of degree, and subjective degree at that.