Theory on the PSB?

[PinkSteel]

I know this is primarily a theory question, but I always post here and it's only applicable to NL.

Very generally speaking, why do pot-sized bets (or thereabouts), appear to be the most effective for no-limit play? Of course this isn't always the case, but with min-betting at one end of the spectrum and pushing at the other, we seem to generally agree that "pot the flop" is the profitable play when the general play is to bet.

Why is this? I'm convinced that it's so, but I don't know why. Minbets let opponents on a draw call correctly, obviously that's bad, OK. Pushing is sometimes effective, but in many cases will only win you the least when you're ahead and lose you the most when you're behind; OK.

So in between there is the whole range of possible bets. I see precious little discussion of overbets, or players who do it with any frequency. Some on this forum advocate 3/4 on the flop, 2/3 turn, 1/2 at the river, etc. But usually the explanation is that "that's my standard, it works for me."

Anyone want to throw any math around those numbers? Or do we all just wait for the Sklansky book on no-limit?