If it genuinely interests you there's nothing stopping you. Just don't feel like you have to because of what others think. Algorithms are neat and very fun on

If it genuinely interests you there's nothing stopping you. Just don't feel like you have to because of what others think. Algorithms are neat and very fun once you understand them... but I think critical thinking is far more useful. If you spend time just studying algorithms you might end up just memorizing them by rote and learn nothing. However if you develop critical thinking you will be more apt to be able to develop algorithms on your own. One of my favourite exercises is to ask, "Yes, but how?" While reading through an interesting program I will see a function that perhaps I understand conceptually by the way it is named (ie: (search a list-of-things)). The trick is to not be satisfied and let your curiosity track down that function definition and figure out how it works. See if you can formulate in your mind why it works once you know the how of it. Then see if you can find some literature on the method used -- many algorithms have been discovered and documented by several generations of grad students by now. Or you can take a more formal approach and start with the maths. Just enjoy it. That's the important part.