>>10839919Faster maturation rates imply faster adaptability (since you can breed and die faster, natural selection can act quicker)
I think that a longer maturation rate is needed so the adult forms can be more "powerful", basically allowing for the baby to keep growing and maturing outside of the womb. I'm not sure about this though.
So if you could age faster while getting the same adult form, maturing faster would be better no doubt. If it was a trade off, however, humans could probably benefit from a longer life cycle simply due to extra intelligence gains.
I'm assuming a quicker maturation doesn't lead to an early death though, but if that's the case we'd benefit more from living longer due to our ability to pass on knowledge. Also, maturing fast and dumb just to die young would basically make us more like animals.
