msc (03/29/83)
The recent discussion of sample sizes for the Nielson rating (dis)service reminds me of a science fiction short story I once read. I don't remember the author or the title, but the premise was that the science (??) of statistics had reached such a stage that in order to have a democratically elected government only one person had to cast a vote. The story was about one man who was chosen to be that the voter, how it affected him etc. Mark Callow ...{decvax,ucbvax}!decwrl!qubix!msc ...ittvax!qubix!msc decwrl!qubix!msc@Berkeley.ARPA
leichter (03/31/83)
The one-person-vote story is by Isaac Asimov; it's one of his Multivac stories. I'm afraid I don't remember the title, nor can I point you to where you might find it; but it's in one of his collections (maybe Earth Is Room Enough). Good story, BTW. -- Jerry decvax!yale-comix!leichter leichter@yale
colbert (04/04/83)
The name of the story is 'Franchise' by Issac Asimov and it appears in the book 'Earth is Room Enough'.