Welcome to Force and the Nervous System (FNS). My name is Jacques H. Newell Taylor.
The education, lab experience, investigation, and brilliant colleagues and mentors that I have encountered over the past 30 years have inspired and trained me to be curious, skeptical, and malleable. The focus of my interest and study is the intersection of neuroscience and exercise science. I am committed to employing Modern Rational Empiricism1to responsibly explore, apply, and impart this subject. Since certainty is a rarity in science, when credible evidence contradicts my current understanding, I endeavor to be willing “…to change course without a bead of sweat, or remorse”2.
FNS is a series of articles, courses, and social media posts that explore how exercise transforms the body, mental habits, and behavior. We get into the details of how the nervous system responds and adapts to different types, amounts, and duration of force. Why should you care? The information that we will review and the experiments that we will conduct, the phenomena that we will observe all lead to practical applications – strategies that we can develop and use to help our clients achieve their goals. From weight loss and hypertrophy to performance enhancement and injury prevention – increased mobility and control to stress management – we explore how exercise stimulates the nervous system to orchestrate these outcomes.
So, check out the articles and be sure to sign up for the email list to receive exclusive content. In addition, you’ll be the first to know about (and get discounts for) live courses and webinars.
Modern Rational Empiricism (MRE) is an approach to generating, vetting, and conveying information. To avoid the biases and blindspots associated with singular methodologies (Empiricism, Rationalism, Skepticism, etc.) MRE employs following methodologies: Experience, Reason, Argumentation, Invention, Experimentation, Intuition, Association, Pattern Discernment, and Memory. “Each element contributes to the generating, processing, and interpreting of information for human purposes. Information gleaned from only a single element is limited in it ability to generate quality information. Modern Rational Empiricism demands the interaction of these elements to establish information quality.” (Dunn, K., McMillin, C., Mack, G., Taylor, J. (2016)Manual Muscle Testing, Art and Science: An Exploration of its History, Physics/Mechanics, and Utility in Practice)↩
Tom Peters, as cited in Dunn, K., McMillin, C., Mack, G., Taylor, J. (2016)Manual Muscle Testing, Art and Science: An Exploration of its History, Physics/Mechanics, and Utility in Practice↩