Applying scientific reductionism to surface metrology can reveal the fundamental natures and scales of micro- and nanoscopic discrete interactions that aggregate into macroscopic behaviors. This principle applies to process-driven formation of topographic features and to their performance. Topographies have irregular geometries at fine scales, causing basic properties, like length, area, slope, and curvature, to vary with observation scales. Multiscale analyses and characterizations enable evidence-based design of irregular topographies by finding scales of correlation and for discrimination.