In a limited way I had a similar experience emailing Chomsky about some minor quote attribution and similarly trivial things, there are many things we disagree on (although much we do, etc.) but his intelligence and breath was clear.
That bad huh? Hehe.
I emailed Chomsky some horribly pompous 'intellectual' questions when I was eighteen. I cringed when I read them years later. But Chomsky answered within a day, giving gentle, thoughtful answers to each of my questions. It was a far kinder response than my email merited. I used to read and watch everything by Chomsky, and one thing that does cut through is his basic human decency.