Outline of a theory of massively parallel analog computation

Summary form only given. The author proposes the following definition of massive parallelism. A computational system is massively parallel if the number of processing elements is so large that it may conveniently be considered a continuous quantity. The author proposes this definition of massive parallelism for a number of reasons. First, skillful behavior seems to require significant neural mass. Second, he is interested in computers, such as optical computers and molecular computers, for which the number of processing elements is effectively continuous. Third, continuous mathematics is generally easier than discrete mathematics. The author develops a theoretical framework for understanding massively parallel analog computers.<>