My favorite bit from this:<p>"You might ask, “Why would someone write code in a grotesque
language that exposes raw memory addresses? Why not use
a modern language with garbage collection and functional
programming and free massages after lunch?” Here’s the
answer: Pointers are real. They’re what the hardware understands. Somebody has to deal with them. You can’t just place
a LISP book on top of an x86 chip and hope that the hardware
learns about lambda calculus by osmosis. Denying the existence of pointers is like living in ancient Greece and denying
the existence of Krackens and then being confused about why
none of your ships ever make it to Morocco, or Ur-Morocco,
or whatever Morocco was called back then. Pointers are like
Krackens—real, living things that must be dealt with so that
polite society can exist."