Backbone is one of those libraries/frameworks/whatever that avoids magic. It's just a pile of reusable parts that make building big javascript applications easier. One can't say the same about, say, Rails. There's a lot of magic in Rails.
Not that magic is a bad thing. Magic is what makes Rails good at what it's good at. The downside, though, is that magic-ful frameworks often obscure language mechanics that an inexperienced user of the language would do well to understand. Thus, Rails is awesome for a programmer who's already good at Ruby, but super frustrating for someone learning Ruby.
On the other hand, Backbone makes idiomatic use of javascript and lays it on the table in a magic-less way. So not only does a new javascript programmer not have to deal with confounding magic, they can also learn from how Backbone uses javascript, and apply that knowledge outside the scope of the library.
I'd never thought of it this way, but I think this is probably one of the most important distinctions between opinionated, magic-y frameworks, and things like Backbone.
The thing I've enjoyed most about Backbone, is that it's given me a sane conceptual point for learning browser APIs, and libs.
Using Backbone in no way obviates the need to learn about how browsers work in the end, but it does make it a hell of a lot less painful for you to engage in that process.
also +1 for literate code as a mechanism for learning more about what Backbone's responsibilities and defaults are.
Not that magic is a bad thing. Magic is what makes Rails good at what it's good at. The downside, though, is that magic-ful frameworks often obscure language mechanics that an inexperienced user of the language would do well to understand. Thus, Rails is awesome for a programmer who's already good at Ruby, but super frustrating for someone learning Ruby.
On the other hand, Backbone makes idiomatic use of javascript and lays it on the table in a magic-less way. So not only does a new javascript programmer not have to deal with confounding magic, they can also learn from how Backbone uses javascript, and apply that knowledge outside the scope of the library.
I'd never thought of it this way, but I think this is probably one of the most important distinctions between opinionated, magic-y frameworks, and things like Backbone.