Have humans always taken approx 25yrs for our brain to mature? Have we always taken 2 decades to finish growing? Why does it take so much longer for humans to grow and mature compared to other mammals?
In: 18
Taking a long time to fully develop is slightly more of an advantage than a disadvantage when it comes to evolution.
During childhood about 75% (roughly the average of estimates) of your energy goes to your brain, compared to about 20% as an adult. The brain takes a huge amount of resources away from quicker physical development.
The advantage here is that people eventually become much more intelligent than most animals with a wide skill set, certainly more than other primates. We don’t have a physical advantage in this world, but we’ve shown that a mental advantage more than makes up for the difference.
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