Ethereum is often described as the world computer. In some respects, this is an appropriate analogy, but it may not recognize some of the important features that differentiate Ethereum from "traditional" shared computers (see "Key Features of Ethereum" below). It also overlooks the limitations of Ethereum in terms of its actual computational power. This is because, unlike a "traditional" shared supercomputer, Ethereum cannot be used to, for example, process an image of the night sky and determine how many stars are in it. So we should consider Ethereum, not so much as a shared workhorse, but rather as a shared platform.
