The rub is that most of those things were obscured, or flat out didn't exist in smalltalk. Many of the things that make objects make sense often don't even EXIST in certain languages.

JavaScript being a stunning example of this, as is PHP. Sure, they have "references" but that's a very hard concept to explain without knowing how "real" pointers work.

Many languages try to hide basic -- but oft "grunt-work" level repetition -- from the developer. It's why we have high level languages in the first place.

The issue becomes one of false simplicity. By hiding so much, it's very hard to learn how it actually works, to learn how/when to use certain things, or even how to use it properly in the first place.

To that end, I'd say JavaScript, PHP, and many other languages are HORRIBLE places to learn how to use objects. Just as C syntax being painfully and agonizingly cryptic is a horrible place to learn programming; even if it is the "societal norm".