I think you're missing the point of the blog a bit, as `1 + "2" == "12"` style of issues wasn't it. It definitely also sucks and much more common than you make it sound (especially when refactoring) but it's definitely not that.

Anyhow, no need to rehash the same arguments, there was a long thread here on HN about the post, you can read some of it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37764326