I don't think that casting a range of bits as some other arbitrary type "is a bug nobody sees coming".
C++ compilers also warn you that this is likely an issue and will fail to compile if configured to do so. But it will let you do it if you really want to.
That's why I love C++
I get what you're saying. I guess what I'm yelling at the clouds about is the common discourse more than anything else.
If a screw has a slotted head, and your screwdriver is a torx, few people would say that the screwdriver won't allow them to do something.
Computers are just tools, and we're the ones who created them. We shouldn't be submissive, we should acknowledge that we have taken the wrong approach at solving something and do it a different way. Just like I would bitch about never having the correct screwdriver handy, and then go look for the right one.