[jt2190]

  > ... especially with the node.js crowd (essentially where 
  > the "rockstar" programmer meme gained its popularity)...

The rockstar programmer meme is far, far older than node.js. It crops up any time the labor market for programmers becomes tight. It's a lazy way to (a) try to draw attention to your job ad, and (b) a cheap play to the reader's ego.

  > I personally do not think that re-solving the problem in 
  > the old way in a new language/framework/whatever is 
  > really worthy to be considered an achievement.

Not an achievement for the world at large, perhaps, but for the individual, it is certainly an achievement.

[yareally]

> Not an achievement for the world at large, perhaps, but for the individual, it is certainly an achievement.

It's also a good method to learn a new language in a somewhat predictable way. One of the first things I do when learning a new language is port or use something I am already familiar with to it. That way I can concentrate on the language itself and not so much the problem the code solves.