experiments. Where there are more than 20 omissions made, mere
quickness ought not to be allowed as a substitute. The man who takes
150 seconds and makes 30 mistakes would come up to the same standard
level of 450. Yet his characteristics would probably not serve the
interests of the service. He would speed up his car and would make
better time than any one else, but would be liable to accidents. I
should consider 20 mistakes with a time not longer than 250 as the
permissible maximum. Among the younger motormen whom I examined, the
best result was 290, in which 270 seconds were used and only 2
omissions made. Results below 350 may be considered as very good. One
man, for instance, carried out the experiment in 237 seconds with 11
mistakes, which gives the result 347. From 350 to 450 may be counted
as fair, 450 to 550 as mediocre, and over 550 as very poor. In the
case of old men, who may be expected to adjust themselves less easily
to artificial experiments, the limits may be shifted. If the
experiments are made repeatedly, the valuation of the results must be
changed accordingly. The training of the men in literary and
mathematical work or in experimentation may be considered, as our
experiments have shown that highly educated young people with long
training in experimental observations can pass through the test much
more quickly than any one of the motormen could. Among the most
advanced graduate students who do research work in my Harvard
laboratory there was no one whose result was more than 275, while, as
I said, among all the motormen there was no one whose result was less
than 290. The best result reached was by a student who passed through
the test in 223 seconds with only 1 mistake, the total therefore being
233. Next came a student who did it in 215 seconds with 3 mistakes,
total, 245; then in 228 seconds with 2 omissions, total, 248, and so
on.