Terence Sanger

About

Terence Sanger is a child neurologist, medical researcher, electrical engineer, neuroscientist, professor, and writer

Who am I?

I am a child neurologist and electrical engineer, specializing in computational models of the brain: how it works, and why it breaks.  As a clinician, I specialize in childhood movement disorders such as dystonia, spasticity, tremor, chorea, and ataxia.  These are disorders that distort a child’s intended movement and can make it difficult or impossible for children to move or communicate as they want.  This type of movement disorder can occur in children who have cerebral palsy or other brain diseases.  As an electrical engineer, I use computers to analyze information about children’s brains and their movement, and to model how the brain works and how it breaks.  In particular, I use theory from Robotics and Machine Learning to understand why learning sometimes fails, and how that can lead to unintended or impossible movement in robots and children.  The goal is to use computer models of childhood movement disorders to design new technology and treatments to help children.

Poetry

A poem about Schroedinger’s Cat. Perhaps the only poem ever written on this topic:

Thinking about Language and Evolution

Once a species evolves language, it wins. There is no going back. Language is the nuclear weapon of inter-species competition. Not only because language allows you to describe and invent things that don’t exist, but because language changes the very nature of evolution. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution suggests that random genetic variation creates lots of opportunities for new traits, and then through competition the animals with better traits out-survive their competition.

But there are other theories. Jean-Babtiste de Lamarck believed that acquired traits could be passed from one generation to the next. If your dad works hard to be a bodybuilder, you will be stronger. If your mom works hard to be a university professor, you will be smarter. Of course this is not true. Or is it?

Lamarckian evolution uses language. Lamarck’s theory does not explain the origin of species or different physical traits within a species. We don’t have kidneys because our ancestors tried to regulate their blood sodium levels. But what about airplanes? We have airplanes because our ancestors worked hard to have airplanes, and then they told us how to make them too.

Darwinian evolution is in competition with Lamarckian evolution. Now we have glasses, telescopes, microscopes, radar, cataract surgery, retinal lasers, hydraulic machinery, electric motors, and jet engines. Competition between species never stops, but Lamarckian evolution always wins on speed. If you learn something, you can pass it on immediately. It is an ability, not really a genetic trait, but that doesn’t matter to the woolly mammoth being chased by people with spears. Unfortunate mammoth is not going to evolve armor faster than humans can make sharper spears. Lamarck always wins over Darwin.

And Darwinian evolution stops when you develop language. We remove evolutionary pressure when we make warmer coats, stronger glasses, and gasoline engines, so that we don’t have to evolve fur, better eyes, or faster running. People just get a coat, glasses, or a car, and get on with life. So not only does Lamarck win over Darwin, Lamarck stops Darwin in his tracks.