Manuel de Landa begins with a discussion of the difference between idealism and realism. He discusses materiality in differential geometry as illustrated by the work of Frei Otto. De Landa goes on to use Frei Otto as an analogy to Gilles Deleuze’s engagement with science. De Landa discusses evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr’s concept of “population thinking.” He relates this to algorithm-based design methodologies. De Landa describes “intensive thinking” as an essential part of Deleuze’s thought. De Landa discusses Deleuze’s use of concept “topological differences.” He reviews how Carl Friedrich Gauss’s exploration of curved surfaces in differential geometry led to a new philosophy of space, and provided the framework for Albert Einstein’s spacetime.
