[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.