&gt;Absolutely, the same way that great minds of past generations had friends, went to social events, and wrote letters.<p>I recently read the Wulf&#x27;s The Invention of Nature, a biography of Alexander von Humboldt - from the middle of his life up until his death Humboldt wrote 2000 to 3000 letters per year, crazy if you think how much work a &quot;regular&quot; letter is.