>> Personally, I'm faster on big chunky necks with glossy backs, heavy >> strings and high action because that's what I'm used to.
I'll jump in here. I do not think "Fast neck" is a "nonsensical and totally meaningless" phrase. I, like you prefer a chunky neck like on my Diodati '59, but I can play noticeably faster on my PRS CE24 with the wide-thin neck. That is, given the same guitar lick, such as a 3-note per string scale up the neck, I play it faster on the PRS, and it's because of the fast neck it has. I attribute this to a bunch of things including, neck width, neck radius, string action, string tension and fret height. I don't like the feel as much on the PRS, but I can definitely play faster. It's just easier to fret the darn thing and move around. That's what it means to be a fast neck -- it's just easier to play. It's actually a matter of physics -- if your hand doesn't have to work as hard to fret, it's easier to play and then you can play faster.
As far as being a matter of what you're used to, whenever I switch to the PRS, I have to recalibrate my playing because the lower action makes me miss notes when I try to bend. I grab to high on the string and it slips out. After 15 minutes or so, I'm pretty much up to speed.
Just my two cents...