[hymen0ptera]

The Victorians.

Kind of an artificial make-believe people set.

Better to suppose "some" and not generalize for the universe of all possible people.

Furthermore, nowhere is the process of measurement, or quality measured, noted. Is it simple reflex tests (tapping the knee with a small rubber mallet) or something else?

[iguy]

You can read the original description of the apparatus here:

http://galton.org/bib/JournalItem.aspx_action=view_id=180

It's a pendulum which is released (either silently or with a click), and a button for the subject which records the angle at which it was pressed.

[hymen0ptera]

It doesn't sound like they actually compared apples to apples by performing the same test as a modern replication of results though.

A similar apparatus is not named or sited, when noting the modern equivalent. Does that matter? Couldn't there be side-effects for measure reation time to different stimuli?

Also, did modern 1941 measurements operate with the benefit of newer advancements, such as high-speed cinematography to produce objective slow-motion footage?