I don't get why, if everything came from the same basic life form, it didn't evolve into the same thing. Why are there different plant, animals, bacteria ... etc. Were somethings lazier than others and just said screw it I ain't evolving? Im sure there is an answer to this. Blows my mind though.
People have the misconception in believing evolution always creates the "best" outcome for an organism, and therefore all organisms would evolve to be the same best thing. That's simply not true. Evolution uses random genetic mutation and picks out the products which allow for the best survival in a non-random way. Keep in mind that what is the best survival advantage is not the same for all organisms, or even the same organisms in different locations. Larger fins, for example, might help a certain fish survive better, but larger hands may not help a kangaroo. Here's another example: Let's say we take some birds all from the same species, and place half in a place where the only food was large nuts, and the other half in a place where the only food was small seeds. You can see where the first group would want big strong beaks to crack nuts, and the second group would want long slender beaks to pick up little seeds easier.
Make sense?
