It would make a lot of sense if the user had to use a more natural gesture to make their mouse selection. Another problem is that in a list-based menu, the options on top are a lot closer to the mouse than the options on the bottom. This doesn't make much sense. It would make a lot more sense if all the menu options were the same distance away from the mouse. The only way to fulfill the second requirement is to put the menu options in a circle around the mouse.
Lets run an experiment.
Bring up a menu that you've used many times before. You know the menu, and you know what you want to find there. Of course not. Unless you have perfect precision you'll never manage to move the mouse down the exactly correct distance and you'll probably misfire. But you can with a circular menu.