I think all of this serves to highlight how valuable information technology is right now. People can get away with massive inefficiencies, producing tons of garbage code, not-invented-here habits, horrible performance, and still run a profitable company. I agree that hype-driven development is bad, but instead of complaining about it, just don't do it. Run circles around those who do.

I have my own theory about why hype-driven development is prevailing: it's social signaling. Probably none of the hyped up stuff is as good as they claim, but nothing is cool without hype. It's a good way to attract younger developers in job postings, who lack the experience to evaluate their own career decisions.

I'm also not sure about the solutions proposed. Spikes and hackathons are useless if it's already determined that a hyped technology will be used, then it just serves as a training exercise. A strong technical background and experience comes with age, and this industry is heavily biased against older programmers.