I agree with this. I used to be a lot more down on his work, but it wasn't his fault so much as all the wannabes who bought it uncritically. (Much the same as stuff like Kubernetes--you aren't Google, they have Google problems, you don't have Google problems, stop automatically adopting Google solutions to problems that are a-web-server problems.)
> you aren't Google, they have Google problems, you don't have Google problems
Don't underestimate how hard it can be for developers to accept this. The hacker community can become a tedious game of one-upsmanship at times, and it's way too easy to slip into "imposter syndrome" mode. Often, the people barking loudest about the newest ideas have slipped themselves, and are just trying not to appear clueless.
But cluelessness is fine. It's the default state of being, we all need to be comfortable (if not satisfied) with it.
I don't want to suggest that Martin Fowler is clueless, of course. He has described many prudent battle-tested techniques that can be absolutely essential in context. If you haven't seen his article on Collection Pipelines, it's relevant to all kinds of modern programming: https://martinfowler.com/articles/collection-pipeline/
I really strongly agree with your point about uncritical thinking. Our industry seems to be especially prone to dogma and so many arguments seem to be people not realizing that they're talking past each other.
