All the others lie idle. One way to look at it is that in 1 Mb of computer memory, at any moment you can actively be working with only 16 millionths of its capability. Other ways of looking at it show computer memory in a better light, nevertheless, a huge improvement in computers could come about simply from improving the structure of computer memory. I could see how to make that improvement and wanted to do it myself. Integrated Circuit Design A first step in improving computer memory is to make it work associatively.
People have chains of associations of ideas, one thought links to another.
After a mathematics degree, which in spite of my long standing interest I found difficult going, I gained a place on an MSc in Integrated Circuit design at Edinburgh to learn the electronic design techniques I would need. As it happens, Integrated Circuit design is a rich field for Graph Theory. Because in Integrated Circuit design the routing and processing of signals are so important, Integrated Circuit design could be said to be the applied end of Graph Theory. Mathematics came in handy in other ways too. There are constantly trade offs to be made between speed, size and power.