But null is still null, a very special non-reference signifying absence. And not some pretend-object that walks like a valid reference, swims like a valid refer

But null is still null, a very special non-reference signifying absence. And not some pretend-object that walks like a valid reference, swims like a valid reference, but somehow doesn't quite quack like one. The problems surfacing as an NPE don't magically go away by null-less approaches, they just bite you at different times, in different form. Sometimes sooner, which is good, but sometimes also later. Java made null worse by not taking nullability into the type system (these days nullability annotations do a tolerable job at pretending it was) and lacking scope functions that make it easy to check without the eyesore of flooding local scope with names. Kotlin is really awesome for not falling into the trap of chasing the pipe dream of a world without absence.