>...or is it just that evolution optimizes to the point of reproduction and then doesn't care about much after successfully handing down genes to the next gener

>...or is it just that evolution optimizes to the point of reproduction and then doesn't care about much after successfully handing down genes to the next generation? I think this is more or less accurate. The optimization wouldn't be just for reproduction but also for the N years of rearing required before offspring are relatively self-sufficient, so reproduction + time to mature seems to be the rough target of evolution.