eli5 Why are we so helpless as babies and can’t do a lot?

Question

I see how other animals stand and walk literally 10 minutes after they’re born but as babies all we do is cry and eat, why aren’t we like other animals?

In: 0

Answer 1

Humans are trying to build a gigantic biological supercomputer in their heads, and this takes several years to assemble.

We also have very narrow hips to walk upright.

So this created an evolutionary conundrum: the finished brain doesn’t fit through human hips.

So there’s only one solution – human babies are born extremely “undercooked” so that they still fit, and then most continue developing for a long time after birth.