I think it's simply a flawed design to use reflection to read function parameter names and then use that information to apply semantics. I think parameter naming is something that shouldn't directly be semantic, as that's what most developers except. If, for example, I'm supplying a callback function to a library, I don't except the library to read the parameter names and then do stuff differently depending on the variable naming I happened to use.
I think your point about the minifier being "broken" is a good one, but the real problem is with AngularJS in my opinion.
No, ActiveRecord never looks at argument names. (unless you're talking about Ruby's named parameters, which is nothing like Angular's DI and not AR-specific)
What I meant is db tables and field names get converted into ruby class names and properties/methods. This is basically convention over configuration. It's the same with angular.
I agree, it's flawed design and a crutch that comes about due to the lack of a better type system. But the cited reason (that it doesn't work with a minifier) is bogus.
I think your point about the minifier being "broken" is a good one, but the real problem is with AngularJS in my opinion.