"That's just like...aa.. your opinion man." - The Big Lebowski

Spoiler: every set of instructions you code is an algorithm. An algorithm is not something magical, it's just a series of steps that lead you to a result.

Knowing different algorithms and knowing which one is better for you allows you to create the best solution for a problem. For example, having to display a sorted list of contacts or a list of geographic locations can be achieved in many ways. Depending on what algorithm you use for sorting that list you can have a result in 1 second or 2 hours. Says that you can be a programmer without the use of algorithms or pointers is like saying you can be a chef without knowing how to cut onions.