I would question whether there is any scientific basis for Boeing's assumptions about the average American pilot's reaction times. My understanding is that they kept the test pilots out of the loop (and test pilots by definition are not 'average pilots') and have not heard of any specific testing of unexpected AOA sensor failures with average pilots before the rollout of the plane. The dog and pony show after the crash was simply
PR, if you told me in advance what was going to happen and how to respond correctly I could probably pass the test -- if I could figure out how to get the damn plane off the ground first.