Imagine you and a few helpers working together to sort a deck of playing cards. We will consider a few ways people might work together to sort cards and use these examples to introduce fundamental parallel computing concepts.

As you read the next few pages, consider the following:

• Are some tasks more efficient to do by yourself?
• Does adding additional helpers always speed up a task?
• Is there a limit to how many helpers can work together?
• How can people resolve coordination issues while they work together?
• Does the way the task and helpers are organized impact how well they can work together?