[...] Alan Lightman, Donald Knuth, Neal Stephensen, and Leo Babauta, for example, all gave up (public) e-mail. I realize now that what attracts me to their stories is that they’re examples of creatives who are willing to fight hard for their core. [...]

The key point remains the same: one input that filters all incoming information flows is better; let it be web 2.0, email, phone, whatever

E-mail zero is just a mean to minimize the different paths of incoming information flows.

I agree. But the key point missing from your argument is that not all incoming information flows are made equal. Due to many factors, e-mail has a tendency to be way more time sapping than other forms of communication. Therefore, eliminating it, as oppose to the phone and answering machine, my be a better reductions among the many possible.

Latest email software (personal or corporate versions) and various web 2.0 applications/mashups try to achieve the same result … with the convenience of the digital world Imagine a Zero Phone, Zero Answer Machine and everything in your Inbox

Just my $0.02

[...] A number of productivity bloggers have dealt with chronic e-mail checking and responding:How to Stop Checking E-mail on the Evenings and WeekendsE-Mail Zero: Imagining Life Without E-mail [...]

[...] weeks ago, I introduced E-mail Zero, the concept of living life with no e-mail. The motivation was to investigate innovative ways to [...]

[...] decided what’s of interest to them and their lives and work, then–like Donald Knuth and Alan Lightman–they can choose to eschew email and other bit-processors totally, and get on with what they [...]

For what it’s worth, I do something similar to both of you. I use Gmail. I aggressively filter and unsubscribe to the point that I get very unhappy if anything arrives in my inbox that is not from a human being I know. I have various GTD style labels to quickly archive messages I can’t deal with right away, including a @ReplyASAP label for things I need to get to real quick. And I try to use good e-mail ettiquette to avoid unnecessary back and forth.

The end results is that I have no problem keeping an empty inbox.

However, relatively speaking, I don’t get that many e-mails. Mainly from readers, a few from academic colleagues, and the occasionally family and friend note. So I have it easy. I can’t imagine what it would be like if I had a position like Professor Lightman…

Realistically, though, email, used appropriately, has improved my personal and business communications.

I agree with that. For a lot of people — myself included — e-mail adds a lot of value. For some, however, it because the bane of their existence.