[head | tail] = [1, 2, 3, true] # one can use pattern matching to break up cons cells. This assigns head to 1 and tail to [2, 3, true]
%{d: val} = %{d: 1, e: true} # this assigns val to 1; no variable d is created because the d on the lhs is really just a symbol that is used to create the p...