[EM] Dismal bunch of clown clones

[Anthony Simmons]

>> From: Forest Simmons
>> Subject: Re: The None of the Above Chorus:

>> At the other extreme, suppose we have 100 candidates for a
>> single position.  Shouldn't at least one of them be
>> outstanding enough to get more than 50% approval?  If not,
>> I would say, "What a dismal bunch of clown clones!"

One possibility is that people will approve only a few
candidates no matter how large the field, or that the number
of approvals will increase with increasing number of
candidates, but not as fast.  For (speculative) example, with
four candidates, average number approved is two, but with one
hundred candidates, average number approved is five.  In the
first case, average approval rating for all candidates is
0.5, but in the second it is 0.05.

That's can't be more than a guess, since it's a psychological
(therefore empirical) matter, but it sounds like something
I'd expect.  If it's a general trend, it wouldn't be
surprising if a majority is more likely with a small field
than with a large one.  At least it's a possibility worth
considering.