Because usually a pointer is stored in memory in exactly the same way as the things it points to.
Another useful feature of this abstraction is that if you open a box and find a number you don't know whether it's a pointer to another box or whether the number means something else. This demonstrates how, at least in C, your types aren't stored in memory along with the values and you need something else to tell you how to interpret the value you find at an address.
Another useful feature of this abstraction is that if you open a box and find a number you don't know whether it's a pointer to another box or whether the number means something else. This demonstrates how, at least in C, your types aren't stored in memory along with the values and you need something else to tell you how to interpret the value you find at an address.