"Why did you choose React over other frameworks?" "Well, we thoroughly evaluated all the available options…"
No you didn't. You chose React because everyone else is using it. That's a valid reason (easier to hire devs, bigger plugin ecosystem, "nobody got fired for choosing React," etc.), but let's at least be honest with ourselves about it.
Cargo-culting is fine; it's how we programmers get a lot of important work done. If everyone built their own framework, those frameworks would be much poorer for it.
But OTOH I'm tired of hearing 100 different teams all pretend that they independently arrived upon React as if it's some universal mathematical axiom you can derive from deductive reasoning. I wish we programmers had the self-awareness to realize when we're being influenced by the crowd, charismatic thoughtleaders, narratives, etc.
BTW I find that Evan You is very good at disentangling the narratives and hype around various frameworks and evaluating them honestly in terms of performance tradeoffs, limitations in benchmarks, subtleties in what "fast" means, etc. His talks are all worth watching:
- https://youtu.be/Ag-1wmHWwS4
- https://youtu.be/r4pNEdIt_l4