If attached a reference identifies a single object. Reference concept more abstract than pointer concept. Every instanciated object has a unique identity, independent of its field's values. Two objects with different identities may have identical fields. The fields of a certain object may change during execution.
Software only models the modeled system.
Software applied to solving software problems- reflexive applications. Computers and software are part of reality. A software system is only a model of some part of reality. To model is to discard. The creation instruction.