[dnedic]

This feels extremely weird to read as someone naiively approaching networking where I actually want to talk to people, not just their professional side.

On the other hand it might even be suboptimal in the long run because when you hire or partner with someone, you don't just hire their knowledge or expirience, you hire their personality, drive and creativity.

[dahwolf]

It came across as quite cold-hearted to me. But you don't have to take it that far. In particular the learning can be that you can somewhat engineer a conversation by preparing it well.

[solarmist]

How the heck did she learn details like “he’s into studying fungi”?

This goes beyond basic research into a person.