Put even more simply: what good is having the best password security on earth if having a 'secret word' that's not subject to the same strict security requireme

Put even more simply: what good is having the best password security on earth if having a 'secret word' that's not subject to the same strict security requirements will still open up an account. I always find it horribly ironic when you're told over and over again, "don't use easy to guess things like birthdays, child or pet names, or your mother's maiden name as a password because it's easy to guess" only to have the next question be, "What is your mother's maiden name?" The whole concept has always been silly; glad to read a well-rationed argument against it. But honestly, why should we even need such an argument?