> If someone postulated in, say, 1785, the idea that perhaps there were specific compounds that could be used to cure infection, and these could be produced en

> If someone postulated in, say, 1785, the idea that perhaps there were specific compounds that could be used to cure infection, and these could be produced en masse, would it not be analogous to respond that since nobody is commercially exploiting (at the time), they clearly do not exist? None of the ideas included in the xkcd comic are particularly new or obscure. Despite being pigeonholed as a certain kind of bullshit, they are still ideas that a lot of people have heard about and been hearing about for a very long time—more than enough time for someone to get around to commercially exploiting if that were in fact practical. Ghostbusters came out 37 years ago, and the stuff it made fun of was familiar enough to its audience. However, in 1785 the principles of chemical engineering were largely unknown, precluding the development of a modern-style pharmaceutical industry. It did not, however, prevent widespread use of antibiotic treatments that we now understand the mechanism for and can refine or synthesize into more effective forms.