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From: tjt@kobold.UUCP (T.J.Teixeira)
Newsgroups: net.ai
Subject: Re: Parallelism and Conciousness
Message-ID: <192@kobold.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 2-Nov-83 19:28:10 EST
Article-I.D.: kobold.192
Posted: Wed Nov  2 19:28:10 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 6-Nov-83 09:44:30 EST
References: <13089@sri-arpa.UUCP> <3489@umcp-cs.UUCP> <3498@umcp-cs.UUCP> <3523@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Organization: Masscomp, Littleton, MA
Lines: 20

In regards to the statement

	No algorithm is inherently parallel.

which has been justified by the ability to execute and "parallel"
program on a single sequential processor.

The difference between parallel and sequential algorithms is one of
*expressive* power rather than *computational* power.  After all, if
it's just computational power you want, why aren't you all programming
Turing machines?

The real question is what is the additional *expressive* power of
parallel programs.  The additional expressive power of parallel
programming languages is a result of not requiring the programmer to
serialize steps of his computation when he is uncertain whether either
one will terminate.
-- 
	Tom Teixeira,  Massachusetts Computer Corporation.  Littleton MA
	...!{harpo,decvax,ucbcad,tektronix}!masscomp!tjt   (617) 486-9581