Why are human babies born with comparatively less developed brains than many other mammalian species?

Answer 1

The mammalian brain is divided into several parts: the cerebrum, the cerebellum, and the brain stem.

When first born, the cognition thinking part of the brain, the cerebrum, is relatively small in human babies compared to their brain stems and cerebellum. The brain stem and cerebellum are the pre-programmed parts of the brain that contain the inherited characteristics of the newborns.

Automatic activity like heartbeats are controlled by these pre-programmed parts of the brain. One other characteristic is the fear of falling, of heights. All mammals, including human kids are born with the fear of heights. So at the instinctive or inherent level of brain activity humans and other mammals are on an even par with each other.

But at the cognitive level, thinking logically, the other mammals develop their cerebrums faster because they simply mature faster. Their life spans are shorter than typical humans. In the end, their cerebrums end up being smaller than human brains and they have less thinking capacity, which some call IQ. But in the early years their thinking part of the brain is relatively more mature. So yes the average ape learns how to feed themselves before your baby brother does because the ape's cerebrum matures faster.