Fault-to-Ratio Fallacy

Fault-to-Ratio Fallacy
A phrase created by John R. Williams III in early 2024.

The fault-to-ratio fallacy refers to the mistaken reasoning where someone dismisses an individual’s entire set of beliefs or arguments simply because they hold one or a few demonstrably false or flawed views. This fallacy ignores the "ratio" of truths to faults, assuming that one error invalidates all other ideas or arguments, even if some of them are inherently correct or well-founded.

Example:
Person A: "I believe the Earth is flat, but I also believe that 2+2=4."
Person B: "Since you believe the Earth is flat, everything you say must be wrong."

Here, Person B commits the fault-to-ratio fallacy by rejecting Person A’s correct belief (2+2=4) because of their incorrect belief about the shape of the Earth. Instead of evaluating each idea on its own merit, they discredit all ideas based on one fault