[verall]

I agree completely.

The correct simplification to make is not explaining virtual memory or MMIO. Pretend we have nicely-acting linear address space. The computer is a mail-sorting octopus and when it runs out of hands it only has mailboxes to put things in. Still not a great analogy.

Everytime I start to hear "addresses are like real addresses, ways to find where something lives" I know it will be an explanation for people that want to understand them well enough to not use them.

It is also rough because some people try to explain pointers with Java. AP CompSci in american high schools is happy to try to explain pointers to Java users, it's not surprising people have a rough time!

[jancsika]

> Pretend we have nicely-acting linear address space.

I feel like the prevalence of linked lists in discussions wrt pointers is proof that nobody is understanding these analogies.

At least there should be some regular pushback from beginners who conceptualize the linear addy space and say, "Hey, what is the distance between this item and the one I just inserted into the list?" Or, "Does it take time to jump around among all these links?"

Edit: And, "How does the time moving among links compare to the time iterating over an array?"