I can't agree with Centauraus either.
If eject chooses to throw away his checklist, at what stage of his flying career should he pick it up again?...do you need one for IR training?, what about multi?, MCC would be fun without one and you sure as hell aren't going to get let lose on a 737 with a 'kick the tyres, light the fires' attitude! Setting high standars from the outset of one's flying can only be a good thing....even if you only want to be a PPL.
I accept that over reliance on a written checklist can be a bad thing and may be an indication of the 'wrong stuff' in certain individuals, personally, I only use mine on the ground i.e. when there is no pressure. I know the emergency drills by heart, together with a left right scan and I use mnemonics for all other airborne checks.
I flew with an ATPL friend of mine some time ago (in his aeroplane), who has the same attitude to checklists in 'puddlejumpers' as Centauraus.
Whilst I have the utmost confidence in his ability to handle the thing competently should the worst happen, he looked pretty silly when the Tower asked him to put the anti-coll and nav lights on as we taxied out at dusk and sillier still as we climbed out squawking 'Hijack' which had previously misdialled and left on.