I agree with this. I find it not only interesting, but also informative to hear other people's take on articles, both for their opinion and added knowledge of something that may not be in the article. Sometimes the discussions veer a little bit which adds more background/relevant/related information. At least for me, the more I know about a subject, the more angles I'm aware of, and the more context I have, allows me to not only absorb it better, but it also allows me to develop or realize the theory behind the matter. From there, I can better apply what I'm reading/learning to other situations.