Forget brainwallet - could you memorize an entire private key?

[ruins]

Brainwallets were never a bad idea, they're just as secure as using a normal password. If you forget the password, bad luck, same goes with brainwallets.

It's easy to remember a simple phrase, such as "CandyMadeTheCowGoPoo", I can't understand why you think it's a bad idea.

right!

[b!z]

I think I could memorize an entire private key given the time and motivation. There are people who have memorized pi to thousands of digits, so why would it be impossible to remember a short string of numbers and letters?

[Window2Wall]

I think I could memorize an entire private key given the time and motivation. There are people who have memorized pi to thousands of digits, so why would it be impossible to remember a short string of numbers and letters?

It would not be impossible. However the stakes are much higher for you memorizing your private key (that potentially controls thousands of dollars worth of bitcoin) while someone memorizing the first thousand digits of pie for example would not lose anything if he made a mistake. IMO this added pressure will increase the chances of you forgetting some important part of your key