As a statistician and Operations Research professional I find this somewhat common among programmers. I also find it baffling but understandable. To me the computer and software is just a tool for creating algorithms and making better models for decision analysis. I believe a lot of programmers look at the computer as an appendage and go to it first to try to solve problems.
Learning to write good algorithms is like learning a language. It takes work and understanding in small steps. Get a good book. Find a good mentor. It will come to you and you will be better for it.
I share a similar background. In most typical programming being good at gluing, and above all perseverance, will get the job done. I would probably even gladly trade some of my mostly useless algorithmic knowledge for some more practical experience; what good does it do you to understand the finer points of interior point methods? Even if you have a problem that benefits from their application, in practice you just use an off-the-shelve solver.
Learning to write good algorithms is like learning a language. It takes work and understanding in small steps. Get a good book. Find a good mentor. It will come to you and you will be better for it.