Development as a source of complexity

Summary form only given. Development represents a period in an organism\´s life during which it is at risk; the immature individual is unable to fend for itself, obtain food or protection, and is highly dependent on its caretakers. Given the apparent maladaptive nature of prolonged development, it is thus something of a puzzle that the human species should have evolved such that it spends more time in a state of developmental immaturity (relative to total lifespan) than any other species. In this presentation, I shall review evidence from a wide range of sources-natural as well as computer simulation-suggesting that there are positive aspects to development, and that in some cases, developmental processes make possible a complexity of organization that might be otherwise difficulty to achieve. In this light, development may be seen as Nature\´s solution to the "scaling problem.".