I think he's saying that the original population didn't notice it because of high willpower, then it get into the mainstream population who didn't have as high willpower, at which point we began to get data on the effects in a low willpower situation.
India vs. Pakistan: the nuclear option is dangerously close, and nobody seems to want to prevent it
http://qz.com/541502/a-nuclear-war-between-india-and-pakistan-is-a-very-real-possibility/