I think there are just multiple kinds of developers. I've programmed a fair amount, professionally, in Smalltalk and Ruby, and quite a bit in Python (along with lots of other languages). If I squint I can see why some kinds of developers like Smalltalk and Ruby more, but I am not that kind of developer. Python is better (for me) for small to medium projects, and then I prefer strict typing for larger projects (currently Go, which I'm ok with).
But I know plenty of people that love, love, love Ruby and I respect them as developers, but what we enjoy in a language is just different.
> I think there are just multiple kinds of developers.
I've seen this very glaringly. I love Ruby and Rails, and want to leverage the stack as much as is reasonable. I've come to realize that there are people who really would like to write 100-200 lines of Java for every line of Ruby I write, just so that they "have control." I think they have no idea what they're talking about, but I have no influence over them. The fact that I'm writing my 3rd application in 6 years which does something that entire teams of outsourced developers could not do is, surely, just coincidence.
Yes this is mostly it. Some of us just have a different world experience and are wired differently; the thing with engineers is that they don't like subjectivity - they need absolute answers, but it's really like debating who is better Metallica or Nirvana.
The type of programmer who likes Ruby usually appreciates aesthetic code, freedom and expressiveness. The type of programmer that likes Go usually appreciates strictness, one way of doing things and performance.
In the end to the average SAAS startup it really doesn't matter which of the popular languages you choose, it's been proven countless times that any of these languages can build monster size companies
But I know plenty of people that love, love, love Ruby and I respect them as developers, but what we enjoy in a language is just different.