Ah, so the pass-by-value vs pass-by-reference is a different topic IMHO than int *x or &x. The implementation of both I'm sure are extremely similar if not exactly the same, but I agree that if a developer doesn't understand pass-by-value vs pass-by-reference then that's a serious problem.

I'm probably showing my age that I consider the pass-by-reference concept in modern languages something that hides the concept of pointers rather than something that indicates the understanding of them. Get off my lawn, etc.