Artificial Time - Emergent Interdependence in a Distributed Computing System

Synchronicity characterizes many events in human life, where an outcome is predicated upon independent actions taken at the same time. People attach a special significance to the rendezvous of trapeze artists, to a spontaneous first kiss, and to uttering the same words at the same time. However, in Computer Science, especially the study of distributed systems, it is almost universally denied that there is a special class of concurrent events whereby the same result could not be obtained had the component actions occurred one after the other.

Artificial Time is addressed to philosophers interested in distributed computing, and to computer scientists interested in philosophy. Illustrated with schematic diagrams of experimental designs, graphs, and annotated samples of the results, it contains an extensive bibliography of related research in distributed computing and the logic of computation.