Earth, Wind, and Fire – plus Water: From strategic knowledge to intelligence for humans

“Historia magistra vitae” – History is life’s teacher. Back in his days (I century BCE), Cicero knew very well what he meant: Lessons gleaned from events of the past can be revelatory when trying to decipher contemporary life. Little did Cicero know that, in our days (like, 22 centuries past), his wise words could not have resonated more, given our efforts to portray concomitant hazards and contribute to forecast oncoming events – adverse and beneficial ones alike.

As a succession of recurring events – from kingdoms to wars – and their long-term, long-range repercussions through time and space – from discoveries to migrations – the history of humans and the Earth system should inform, and help steer, contemporary societies and stakeholders as a collective, shared inheritance of knowledge. In this respect, geosciences appear to be premier, extraordinary tools to help provide insight of global, crucial remit. Borne as they were to originally decipher an elusive, very long-gone past, the geosciences embrace masses and forces, processes and shapes, elements and bonds. They straddle foundational elements – not just those identified by Aristotle (Earth, Water, Air, and Fire) but, rather, those around which life itself revolves, or that can impede or altogether inhibit it.

For that very life to thrive, strategic knowledge (that is, of relevance for today and for tomorrow’s choices) of the natural past is an indispensable ‘survival kit’ to bridge into oncoming challenges, straddling the social, human, and economic dimensions. Today’s echoes of Cicero’s maxim indeed prove far more complex than in past centuries, as long as the Earth system is being burdened in unprecedented fashion by environmental stressors over a peaking global population. The resulting, interwoven factors – both ancient and novel – range from human nature to societal contradictions, with regions of the world that inherit storied vulnerabilities, exposed to hazards with evolving space-and-time patterns, in part yet unclear.

Yet, the complexities of human life, dismaying as they may appear in contemporary societies, are neither really new nor truly surprising. Precisely because global societies exude complexities cutting through geographies and economies that strain human perceptions and models, knitting together knowledge and societal advancement appears to require monumental efforts and dedicated, sensitive science throughout society, where intellect and intelligence are (or should be) interpellated as some of the most revealing accomplishments of humans: understanding, sharing, building.