Colloidal Silver is an incredible remedy and FREE!

First of all, I'm fairly sure that with your "undergrad-peon-at-small-university" thing, you violated the code of conduct (T2: http://www.debate.org...). Either way, it was rather unsporting. Anyway, you have the burden of proof exactly opposite. In science, you assume the null hypothesis (in this case, that colloidal silver is not an anti-microbial agent) until otherwise proven. You have the burden of proof in this argument, not me. Rebutting your arguments: "Wikipedia is NOT a complete or trustworthy source on most things." Really? I thought you could trust everything on the internet. Of course Wikipedia should be regarded with skepticism. Considering that one can look at the sources cited, though, it is pretty easy to verify. (For example, this PEER-REVIEWED article from the Department of Dermatology at UC-Davis http://dermatology.cdlib.org....) "Now I am going to direct anyone here interested in the discussion further to read the paper by Yamanaka, Hara , and Kudo "Bactericidal Actions of a Silver Ion Solution on Eshchechila Coli..." APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY Nov 2005 p 7589 - 7593." Read my argument again, specifically, the second paragraph where I cited the same article. I've read it, I understand it, and you're full of it. First of all, the paper talks about silver ions, not silver colloids. (I'm not going to bother explaining the difference since it would take a long time, Wikipedia if you're interested. I guarantee those articles are accurate.) Colloids can't do anything to bacteria since the particles are too large to penetrate the membrane. Second, the article was about E. coli in vitro, that is, not in an animal. Chemicals act entirely differently when they're in a human body, so that study proves nothing other than that contact with silver ions can kill bacteria. I mean, rubbing alcohol is a wonderful antibacterial, they can't develop resistance. The problem is that you can't use it to fight internal infection since it kills human cells too. A lot of promising antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs, and antivirals have failed to pan out because the body simply can't deliver them to the site of the infection/tumor, as well. Just because something works on a culture in the lab doesn't mean it does in a human body. Now, regarding your anecdotes: Aside from the fact that anecdotes aren't exactly the bedrock of science, which I'd expect someone with an MSME in chemical and mechanical engineering to know, (By the way, how can you have a "masters of science in mechanical engineering" (MSME) in chemical engineering?), all of your cases are pretty easily explained. In the case of your wife, there are a lot of things that can cause her symptoms other than strep throat. Viral tonsillitis, for example. Also, if your wife had a bug such as influenza, aspirin (especially non coated aspirin like in aspirgum) can cause white patches. Both of those can disappear in hours. In the case of your kids: congratulations, your children have functioning immune systems. Colds generally go away in two or three days. In your case, I'm at a loss, I mean, no one ever goes for fifteen years without an illness. Except for a whole bunch of other people who take care of themselves and have good immune systems. Two remaining points; first, argyria. In this case, I'm just going to post a couple links, since they speak for themselves. http://news.bbc.co.uk... (Media report, and since drug companies can't legally advertise on the BBC, don't even think about claiming they're biased.) http://www.rotten.com... (Not peer reviewed, but demonstrative.) http://dermatology.cdlib.org... (Peer reviewed, by dermatologists at UC-Davis) Finally, what do people have to lose by using colloidal silver? A great deal, actually. First of all, it's a ridiculous expense ($25/week, in the first result on Google), since very few people make it on their own, and doing so increases the risk of argyria. Second, there's the permanent disfigurement (and possible vision impairment) of argyria. Third, and most important, by using false treatments, you increase the likelihood of allowing a serious disease. If your wife really did have strep throat and you had convinced her to use colloidal silver instead of going to the doctor, she would likely have developed antibodies, and the next time she acquired a strep infection, gotten rheumatic fever. Colloidal silver is also marketed as a treatment for AIDS and cancer (in both cases, with no evidence supporting and basic biology opposing), which is likely to discourage patients who could otherwise be saved from getting treatments that actually work. It's simply a despicable practice to prey on the fears of the truly ill, and even worse when it prevents them from getting real treatment. One more thing that I just saw in your argument: "I also point out : Why do you think the Royals invented SILVERWARE?" Um, I don't know. Maybe because silver's a precious metal and they wanted to show off how rich they were?