I can't find it anymore, but I remember way back when Rails first launched, DHH saying something along the lines of: "I don't know databases, so I found one way that worked and ran with it as an ORM." I'm sure the dude has learned more since then, so Rails has improved, but if you are asking if you should listen to DHH, you need to know that he is a pragmatist, not an idealist. That is not a bad thing... but if you are an idealist, it would explain why his work does not appeal to you.