Networking!!!!

As the first step towards job search, I was reading the book , "Knock em dead" and the author was stressing so much on networking, and how important it is and blah blah.... I was wondering why is he stating the obvious.... any normal person will have his own network and there is no special need to work on it.....However, today there is a Master lecture arranged in my department where this famous mathematician has come down to give a guest lecture, and my prof was asking me if I would like to join them for dinner!!!! What a great place 2 get2 know somebody rite!!!!, my first reaction was ...well, may be next time, I have 2 do this, that and ........ This is when I stopped and understood what the book meant.....You meet so many ppl everyday, all you need to know is one correct person for you to land the job.... and here I was abt 2 give up a great chance!!!!!!!