React was frontend's introduction to Big Lies. The React team themselves were talking a book they didn't fully understand (else Pete Hunt would never have been able to get on stage and say "it works like game engine!" with a straight face), and were serially unwilling to tell the full story as they knew it.

So the implausible proposition that a system that *obviously* doubled up work and didn't defend against layout thrashing would somehow be "faster" was projected and uncritically accepted.