On the parallel computation thesis

We develop a generic programming language for parallel algorithms, one that works for all data structures and controlstructures. We show that any parallel algorithm satisfying intuitively-appealing postulates can be modelled by a collectionof cells, each of which is an abstract state machine, augmented with the ability to spawn new cells. The cells all run thesame algorithm and communicate via a shared global memory. Using a formal definition of what makes such an algorithmeffective, we prove the validity of the Parallel Computation Thesis, according to which all reasonable parallel models ofcomputation have roughly equivalent running times.