Intensive vs Extensive

Intensive vs Extensive

If we divide a volume of matter into two equal halves, we end up with two volumes, each half the extent of the original. Intensive properties on the other hand are properties such as temperature or pressure, which cannot be so divided.

- Manual Del Landa, Intensive Science and Virtual Philosophy

Extensive quality is the quality that you can measure, such as length, area and volume, hence Extensive quality is quantitative difference. Let’s say if you divide the perfect cube into two equally subdivided solids, these two solids contain same amount of volumes. On the other hand, Intensive quality is when material reaches the threshold to create difference in quality. For example, water turns into ice as temperature decrease. This allows us to investigate self-organized and bottom-up approach. In Bottom-up approach, designers have control of local scale but the global scale is the result of interactions of the local behavior. The important thing is that the global behavior is more than sum of whole, the difference in quality to make new behavior to be emerged such as water flows to turn into tidal waves or spider webs string to create self-supported web network. Designers seem using algorithmic methods for the investigation of the emergent behavior. However, algorithm, either scripting, animation or parametric, they are structured by nested binary choices for example, if A do C, if B do D, if E do G and so on. I still wonder if this binary choice can simulate complexity of nature. Maybe it does. As Steven Wolfram mentions, the simple rule can create complex system.