"They use Node.js because that language is JavaScript, and JavaScript is fun."
Which is why one of the most widely used node.js applications is an alternative language that keeps you from having to write JavaScript.
I love node.js, but this made me lol. (I use both vanilla JS and CoffeeScript, fwiw.)
This is a great post, thanks for writing. I've been looking for some discussion of Node that strikes the right balance between theory and practice.
I second the Thinking Fast and Slow recommendation. Nice to see more posts including behavior economics in the discussion.
Very good read. While I do think that the amount of code sharing between the client and server is not big the fact that you are using the same language reduces friction and helps a lot to avoid 'context switch' issues.