The fun(?) thing is that this isn't just LLMs. At regional band tryouts way back in high school, the judges sat behind an opaque curtain facing away from the st

The fun(?) thing is that this isn't just LLMs. At regional band tryouts way back in high school, the judges sat behind an opaque curtain facing away from the students, and every student was instructed to enter in complete silence, perform their piece to the best of their ability, then exit in complete silence, all to maintain anonymity. This helped to eliminate several biases, not least of which school affiliation, and ensured a much fairer read on the student's actual abilities. At least, in theory. In practice? Earlier students tended to score closer to the middle of the pack, regardless of ability. They "set the standard" against which the rest of the students were summarily judged.