 (CA1)  emphasizes that CA perform computations. Just like Turing machines, they can be specified in mathematical terms, and implemented in different physical systems. However, CA are peculiar in two important ways. First, unlike Turing machines and von Neumann-architecture conventional computers, CA compute in a parallel, distributed fashion. Second, computation is pretty much “in the eye of the beholder”: there is no tape, but the evolution of the cells’ states can often be interpreted as a meaningful computational procedure (e.g., bits can be encoded using the white/black cell states). Computational hardware inspired by CA can help solve important technological problems (see  Ilachinski 2001: 8), but apart from engineering issues,  (CA1)  also points to major conceptual questions, such as how exactly a universal Turing machine and an automaton can be rigorously compared (see Beraldo-de-Araújo &amp; Baravalle forthcoming) and what are, if any, the philosophical implications of this comparison (see Wolfram 2002: Ch. 12). 