It is not the state which is important.  Rather, the important component is the finite state automaton that is found in each cell of a system of cellular automata.  Moreover, each configuration constitutes an abstract machine, which is itself a cellular automaton.  It is often the case that established practice is fraught with error.  For instance, it is common for American's to refer to the rearing of children by the term *raise*; Man raises vegetables, and rears children.  The commonality of error does not yield correctness.