[throwawaymath]

You're making a strong point here, which is that every real world analogy of pointers breaks down since everything is data. But I'm still not sold on the idea that pointers are intrinsically a "make it or break it" topic for people to learn.

In fact, I'm resistant to that sort of conclusion in general. I don't really think there are things that people of average intelligence can't learn, given enough time and pedagogy. And I say that as someone with a background in mathematics, which is one area most typically associated with people "not getting it."

If people don't learn pointers, it could be because they're not sufficiently motivated or don't have it presented to them the right way. It could be that the overuse of analogies does them a disservice, and they really just need to pick up a book. Whatever the case may be, I'd hesitate to say it can't be learned by any population of people.