Paper reading is one of the ways of learning what else is out there. You can substitute that with talking to other people. Which Feynman did a lot, judging from the stories in his books.
Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, it seems to actually be MUCH more efficient (if you have smart people to talk to): trying to find the good papers in the middle of the sea of publications/noise is a very time consuming task.
Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, it seems to actually be MUCH more efficient (if you have smart people to talk to): trying to find the good papers in the middle of the sea of publications/noise is a very time consuming task.