Today's Wisdom - Cities, Votes & Early Mornings

🏺 The First Cities: Life in Mesopotamia 

The world’s first true cities emerged around 4000 BCE in the region known as Mesopotamia “the land between rivers,” bordered by the Tigris and Euphrates in modern-day Iraq. Fertile soil and irrigation transformed once-nomadic peoples, like the Sumerians, into settled communities capable of producing food surpluses. This abundance sparked the rise of urban centers such as Uruk, Ur, and Eridu, cities with tens of thousands of residents and bustling trade networks stretching to Persia and the Indus Valley. 

Life in these cities revolved around a blend of religion, trade, and administration. Priests managed temples that also acted as banks, collecting offerings and redistributing resources. Scribes used the world’s first writing system, cuneiform, to record transactions, myths, and laws. And so the first taxes emerged, not coins or bills, but baskets of wheat and flocks of sheep given in tribute to the divine order.

The population was diverse. Sumerians, Akkadians, and later Babylonians mingled through commerce and conquest, creating one of history’s first multicultural societies.  Uruk itself, home to the legendary King Gilgamesh, was the largest city in the world at its peak. From its clay tablets to its walled defenses, Mesopotamia’s urban experiment laid the foundation for government, economics, and social order as we know them.

🗳How the U.S. Electoral College Works 

Every four years, Americans head to the polls to choose their president, but technically, they’re not voting for the candidate. They’re voting for a group of people called electors, who make up the Electoral College, the body that casts the official votes for president and vice president. 

Here’s how it works: each state gets a number of electors equal to its total seats in Congress: two for its senators, plus however many representatives it has in the House. That means big states like California get 54 votes, while small ones like Vermont get just 3. There are 538 electors in total, and a candidate needs 270 to win the presidency. 

In 48 of the 50 states, the rule is “winner takes all” whoever wins the popular vote in that state gets all of its electoral votes. That’s why it’s possible to win the national popular vote but lose the presidency. It happened in 2000 (Bush vs. Gore), 2016 (Trump vs. Clinton), and even 1824, when no candidate reached a majority and the House of Representatives chose John Quincy Adams. 

The Electoral College was created in 1787 by the Constitution’s framers, the delegates who designed America’s government. It was a compromise between those who wanted Congress to pick the president and those who wanted a direct public vote. 

Today, supporters say it protects smaller states and forces candidates to campaign broadly; critics argue it distorts democracy by giving swing states outsized power. 

🌅 The Science of Early Rising 

Long before productivity gurus praised 5 a.m. routines, philosophers and scientists noticed a curious truth: mornings change the mind. Biologically, our circadian rhythms (the 24-hour cycles that regulate sleep, energy, and hormones) are deeply influenced by light. Exposure to early sunlight triggers a surge of cortisol and serotonin, sharpening focus and mood. Morning light also suppresses melatonin, the sleep hormone, helping your body’s clock align naturally with the day. 

Studies show that consistent early risers often report better mental health, stronger self-discipline, and higher academic or professional performance. It’s not magic, it’s structure. Even Benjamin Franklin’s “early to bed, early to rise” wasn’t moral preaching, it was time management. 

But chronotype matters. About 30% of people are natural “night owls,” genetically predisposed to peak later in the day. For them, forcing a dawn routine can backfire. The key, researchers say, is not when you wake, but how consistently. Aligning your sleep and light exposure to your body’s rhythm leads to better mood, learning, and health outcomes overall. 

Q: Where did the world’s first cities emerge?

A: Around 4000 BCE in Mesopotamia (between the Tigris and Euphrates in modern Iraq), where irrigation let Sumerians build urban centers such as Uruk, Ur, and Eridu.

Q: What made Mesopotamian city life distinctive?

A: Temple-banks, cuneiform record-keeping, taxes paid in wheat and sheep, and multicultural mixing of Sumerians, Akkadians, and later Babylonians.

Q: How does the U.S. Electoral College work?

A: Voters choose electors equal to each state’s congressional seats (538 total). A candidate needs 270 electoral votes; 48 states award all electors to the statewide winner.

Q: Why was the Electoral College created?

A: As a 1787 compromise between Congress selecting the president and a direct popular vote, balancing large and small states.

Q: Does waking up early improve focus and mood?

A: Early sunlight raises cortisol and serotonin and suppresses melatonin, which can sharpen mood and focus when aligned with your circadian rhythm.

Q: Should night owls force a 5 a.m. routine?

A: Not necessarily—about 30% of people are genetic night owls. Consistency and light timing matter more than an arbitrary dawn alarm.

Primary: Janet Gelder (Professor of History, University of Hawaiʻi). A Little Wiser editions are written with Lucas Garcia (Harvard Philosophy), Callum Graham (Bristol Economics), Janet Gelder (Professor of History, University of Hawaiʻi), and Louise Graham (PhD Researcher, University of Texas).

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— The A Little Wiser Team
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