And the code example there is almost literally taken from the textbook I’m writing. P1389 continues:

"Without a genuine use-case, references can make seem C++ look rather quirky! Instead, it is recommended that students be exposed to references in a practical fashion, such as when passing parameters to functions.”

I agree, which is why that code example in my book is preceded by 

and followed by

Ok, so now my question to the author of that statement in P1389: please write a sample explanation of references in the context of parameter passing, without first explaining references.

Victor.