[solar_perplexus]

Also, you raised a point that is very relevant - you couldn't understand pointers when you were 15, but now you do.

There is some level of cognitive maturity required to understand new ideas. I understood pointers somewhat from school, but it really made sense to me once I learned about computer architecture in more detail.

Sometimes you need to see the whole picture to understand why an element is present there and usually that happens only if you stay long enough with a problem/concept.