I do web development, so arbitrary algorithms questions seem to me to be not applicable to what I do 99% of the time. The other 1% I can easily look up the answer, or at least look up the details I need to find the answer.
That's fair, but that's not the sort of position Google is hiring for. We value general computer science more highly than specific Javascript (for example) experience. I can't offer an explanation or analysis of that, but that's how it is. (But if you do have specific experience and know the basic CS, that's ideal.)
Other companies do the opposite, so there's plenty of jobs for either type of person.
