Numerical Qualifiers #3:The Round Trip Fallacy

Most rapists are male.  Therefore, most males are rapists.

When you look at a fallacy after it has been so-labelled, the sloppiness is apparent. Yet, think of the injustice done to citizens of arabic appearance simply because most members of Al Quaeda have that appearance, and are consequently deemed “especially suspect.” An Indian business person going through airline screening might as well get mentally prepared for the strong possibility that he or she will be searched.

With this fallacy, the problem is not so much the qualifier itself, but with the relationship between the qualifier and the entity it is modifying. The ease with which this fallacy is committed should alarm us anew about the need to be especially alert when we see numerical qualifiers.