You can go overboard in a lot of different directions in Perl.  This is
intentional.  It means you have a lot of ocean around you.

But regarding $ and @, this is just the ordinary singular vs. plural
distinction that every speaker of English makes on almost every noun.
Ordinary people don't get confused when you use a phrase like "the set
of all sets", though of course this confuses mathematicians greatly.  :-)

Referentiality in natural language is a fascinating topic.  These are
the sort of sentences that make linguists and semiologists wander
around muttering:

    That woman is a man.
    There's no there there.
    The ham sandwich in the corner asked for another cup of coffee.
    Boys will be boys.
    Just look at you.
    I now pronounce you man and wife.
    There's no such thing as ghosts.
    If you play with yourself you'll fall off.
    I don't like your I-can-use-anything-as-an-adjective attitude.
    If I were you, I wouldn't be you for the world.
    I thought it was on, so I turned it on, but it was off, so I turned it off.
    May we come in?