The point in brick/concrete walls is that they are much sturdier and harder to break - voluntarily or involuntarily - than plywood. It sounds like proponents of wooden structures keep forgetting that.

For thermal protection you can add the same insulation as for the wooden frame.

How those stone houses in New England fare during the year, are they that obsolete in terms of insulation?

I can tell you how the stone houses in Quebec fare - they're shit. It's drafty and awful and you have to continually run the heater. Compared to my modern insulated condo with drywall walls and joist-and-beam construction (with a concrete support beam and an entire wall of windows), where I run the heater for maybe 20 minutes a day? It's a difference.

The stone houses are cold in the Northeast, and the brick or stone ones fall down in earthquakes in the West.