[mcguire]

"It doesn’t matter if you don’t know algorithms… But it doesn’t hurt to learn about it (because it might help you in the future). This is important. Usually you don’t use algorithm in programming a system but if it’s something that will scale fast, your understanding of algorithm might be useful."

Sigh. I'm really tired of this misunderstanding.

Literally everything you type in to an editor is an algorithm. "Learning algorithms" isn't about memorizing known facts, it's about learning how to think about programming.

[Xorlev]

Those that don't study algorithms are doomed to reinvent them, often poorly.

Totally agreed. A knowledge of "conventional" algorithms influences how you write code. Sometimes it manifests as knowing which algorithm to choose, sometimes it manifests as intuition into the performance (or lack thereof) of something you're writing.

It's not required by any means, but don't turn down cheap knowledge on how to gain an edge.

[khedoros1]

Some basic algorithmic knowledge is definitely essential. I remember the first time that I found a need for sorting. I designed my own algorithm, and I learned years later that I'd basically recreated bubble sort. It worked fine in my little QBasic program, but would've made anything serious fall flat on its face.

[kutkloon7]

I remember a recruiter that tried to convince me some job would be interesting for me: "It's really complicated work. We use algorithms." after which she dropped a dramatic pause to let me recover from that shock.