  Our computers today, from sophisticated servers to small smartphones, operate
based on the same computing model, which requires running a sequence of
discrete instructions, specified as an algorithm. This sequential computing
paradigm has not yet led to a fast algorithm for an NP-complete problem despite
numerous attempts over the past half a century. Unfortunately, even after the
introduction of quantum mechanics to the world of computing, we still followed
a similar sequential paradigm, which has not yet helped us obtain such an
algorithm either. Here a completely different model of computing is proposed to
replace the sequential paradigm of algorithms with inherent parallelism of
physical processes. Using the proposed model, instead of writing algorithms to
solve NP-complete problems, we construct physical systems whose equilibrium
states correspond to the desired solutions and let them evolve to search for
the solutions. The main requirements of the model are identified and quantum
circuits are proposed for its potential implementation.
