I'm just now getting into the study of algorithms and it seems like as computers get faster and faster the need to study algorithms may begin to diminish.
How likely is it that in 50 years there won't be much of a demand for the analysis of algorithms (other than for historical purposes, for example).
Edited to include:
The reason that I ask is that I'm interested in studying algorithms so much that I could see myself moving into a graduate level of research. However, if the field isn't even going to be around in 50 years, I'm going to study the basics and move onto something else...
Euclidean geometry has existed for a long time and we certainly don't only study it for historical purposes.
Usually what happens with a field of mathematics is that it gets incorporated into something bigger and more complex when we attain total mastery of it. For example, from Euclidean geometry we've gotten a lot of tools useful in number theory, topology, and other areas.
With algorithm analysis there's quite a similar situation. In fact, euclid himself came up with an algorithm for calculating GCD's. In some sense, then, algorithms have been studied as long as geometry. The field's not going anywhere.
The last thing I'd like to say is that you should treat algorithms as a tool separate from, but useful in computer science. They've been around since before we had computers and they're still useful outside of computer science.