If given the choice to skip a national physics conference and potentially secure a chance to win the Nobel Prize, probably no contemporary scholar would make a choice different from Edward Witten's.
Even putting that aside, just having access to information ahead of its time would be worth it.
Particularly since Edward Witten felt that if he went this time, having another opportunity to be in the same room as Qiao Ze might be difficult.
As for remote communication...
Professor Witten didn't want to bet on Qiao Ze's patience.
Ten gambles, ten losses; there was no need for such a thing. Besides, opportunities like this didn't come often, and he might not encounter them every time even if they did.
Even if it ultimately proved that Qiao Ze was wrong, Edward Witten still thought it would be worth it.
