[jchw]

Sure, the abstractions can be different. I didn't say React is literally the only answer. I said it's fast and it beats the naive approach (i.e. jQuery crap.) But even if binding is fast, I think most people who moved on from stuff like Knockout to React do not have any desire to move back. I know I don't.

But if you're going to accuse React's value proposition as being just a marketing pitch, I'd love to hear what evidence that virtual DOM is in fact pointless, and then why Angular 2 and Ember are doing the same sort of thing despite this, even though they have vastly different programming models than React.

Also, regarding your last point, I really doubt Facebook accidentally made DOM diffing without realizing it would improve performance of reactive programming in JS.