The issue for me is that their should be a zillion life forms that have major malfunctions-
You've been told already that there are. They die! If you have "major malfunctions" and don't have modern medicine helping you out, you are toast! That's the extreme end of this Natural Selection stuff you hear about on occasion.....
you have to be a complete moron to believe that statement!
You might want to reread those forum rules you agreed to abide by again, IC.
And you appear to be calling some of the leading biologists in the world "morons" here, besides some pretty-damn-bright members of our little community.
Only considering birth and brain size, what sort of improvements could you or anyone foresee in nature that would solve all problems, with no trade-offs?
Being marsupials? Tiny baby and a year in the pouch?