Sense = something every name has, what we’re thinking about when we say that name.
Reference = something that actually exists in the world and can be pointed to by a name.
Take the sentences 1. “Joe Biden is Joe Biden” and 2. “Joe Biden is the POTUS.” Because ‘Joe Biden’ and ‘POTUS’ are both referring to the same person in reality, if all that mattered was reference, these would mean the same thing, when it’s pretty obvious they don’t. Therefore, sense matters.
Now take 1. “OP thinks Joe Biden is 79.” 2. “Joe Biden is the POTUS.” 3. “OP thinks the POTUS is 79.” Again, if all that mattered was reference, 1 and 3 would mean the same thing. But it’s entirely possible for 1 to be true while 3 is false (like if you didn’t know Joe Biden was president) therefore, sense matters.
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