[beat]

Meetings are synchronous, email is asynchronous. The feedback loop is tighter.

Standups get lots of bright minds in the same place at the same time.

Standups let you know what else is going on, which is indeed useful. I've never understood this thing about silos and belittling out-of-band communication. The only way to get the Big Picture is to hear what other people are working on, preferably in an unfiltered manner. Then again, a lot of developers seem to prefer their little heads-down silo, worrying that their little room is uncomfortably warm without knowing the house is on fire.