Yes, as you mention, the lifetime system is the big issue for newbies in Rust, and also a large part of the point! Revamping those guides is high-up on the TODO list.
I also suspect that lifetimes are one of those features that people might say, "I learned Rust, and I don't code in it, but learning about lifetimes improved my code in $DAYJOB_LANGUAGE." Just like how I think Haskell improved my ability to program in a variety of other languages, but I don't really write Haskell anymore.
I also suspect that lifetimes are one of those features that people might say, "I learned Rust, and I don't code in it, but learning about lifetimes improved my code in $DAYJOB_LANGUAGE." Just like how I think Haskell improved my ability to program in a variety of other languages, but I don't really write Haskell anymore.