title: Why are multiplication algorithms needed if hardware already does it?
body: <p>I was learning about the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karatsuba_algorithm" rel="nofollow">Karatsuba algorithm</a> for fast integer multiplication and wondered, since computers already have dedicated hardware built into CPUs to do multiplication why would this algorithm be necessary?</p>
  
  <p>Is it that large numbers are hard to multiply, but the algorithm breaks it down to simpler steps that are easier for the hardware to handle, because the hardware is good at multiplying smaller numbers?</p>