I think allot of people can relate to having read this article but would also agree that not much thought was given to the potential fundamental change this could also help to create.

"The last piece of silver news was a report from Reuters in Japan that Mitsui indicated that it had developed a process that could replace platinum with silver in certain diesel-engine catalytic converters. At first blush, the news would seem to be more bearish for platinum prices, given that this is the main usage for platinum, than bullish for silver, given the potential actual ounces involved.

But the report does make you think about what a versatile and vital metal that silver has become in so many different applications. Further, it puts a new twist on the issue of substitution. Heretofore, most of the substitution stories concerning silver were always of the version of silver being substituted by some cheaper material. What the Mitsui release brings to light is the great potential of silver being the material doing the substituting for more expensive materials. And since silver is less than 1% of the price of platinum, it’s hard to imagine a more sensible substitution."