A meta comment on tutorials to teach pointers:
If pointers are so "simple", why are they so confusing?!? Because pointers are one of those concepts that's easier to use than to explain.
Some concepts like pointers (and also monads and also English words like "a" and "the") are easier to teach by examples instead of by definitions.
E.g. Consider the English words "a" and "the": a 5-year old can fluidly use those connecting words when talking but a 50-year old adult that's been speaking English for decades will have a tough time defining what the words "a" and "the" _mean_ without giving a confusing and circular explanation. Attempted explanation: the "a" is the indefinite or general signifier while "the" is the definite or specific signifier -- what's the problem?[1]
How did small children learn how "a" and "the" work without being given a formal definition? Because of numerous examples.
By working through enough examples, the lightbulb moment happens ("oh gee, is that all pointers is?!?") and the learner is able to derive his own definition. But the irony is that the learner now has The Curse of Knowledge[2] and he/she now thinks he can write a "better" tutorial to explain pointers but new learners reading that tutorial will still say "I don't understand your explanation at all."
[1] riff on : https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3870088/a-monad-is-just-...
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_knowledge
If pointers are so "simple", why are they so confusing?!? Because pointers are one of those concepts that's easier to use than to explain.
Some concepts like pointers (and also monads and also English words like "a" and "the") are easier to teach by examples instead of by definitions.
E.g. Consider the English words "a" and "the": a 5-year old can fluidly use those connecting words when talking but a 50-year old adult that's been speaking English for decades will have a tough time defining what the words "a" and "the" _mean_ without giving a confusing and circular explanation. Attempted explanation: the "a" is the indefinite or general signifier while "the" is the definite or specific signifier -- what's the problem?[1]
How did small children learn how "a" and "the" work without being given a formal definition? Because of numerous examples.
By working through enough examples, the lightbulb moment happens ("oh gee, is that all pointers is?!?") and the learner is able to derive his own definition. But the irony is that the learner now has The Curse of Knowledge[2] and he/she now thinks he can write a "better" tutorial to explain pointers but new learners reading that tutorial will still say "I don't understand your explanation at all."
[1] riff on : https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3870088/a-monad-is-just-...
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_knowledge