[jeffreygoesto]

> You tell a CPU what to do, while you tell an FPGA what to be.

That is the shortest and best description for the difference I've ever read. Kudos. From now on I'll use it to answer questions about FPGAs for accelerating.

I used to tell people that you don't design algorithms but a network of operations and pipelines where you stream your data through.

[banachtarski]

It's a very common trope by FPGA enthusiasts.