title: Why are atoms not garbage collected by the BEAM?
body: <p>Well, the title says it all: I'm wondering what is the reason why the BEAM doesn't garbage collect atoms. I'm aware of question <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/20517966/how-erlang-atoms-can-be-garbage-collected">How Erlang atoms can be garbage collected</a>  but, while related, it doesn't reply to <em>why</em>.</p>