I published this so I could respond that claps have zero, nada, nothing whatsoever to do with earnings.

My personal scale is usually 36, 18 or zero. I discuss why here. https://medium.com/loud-updates/mediums-clap-system-amounts-to-a-vermiform-appendix-7587edb85a0a

Sometimes I give 50 as an editor as encouragement. I almost gave you zero to make a point that I for one (and there are others) am getting sick of your clap-centric submissions

Moreover, see what Anthi says here about people who complain about one clap. https://medium.com/my-unpopular-opinion/medium-claps-self-awareness-writer-a773717f0d69