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One solution is to read books that have survived the test of time (e.g., Descartes).

I've got to say this: reading fiction that survived the test of time was like having thousands of substitute parents who were better at raising me than my own.

The problem is many many books survived the test of time and a lot of such non-fiction books are outdated/incorrect by modern standards.

I’ve found that the classic fiction books have revealed more fundamental truths than modern non fiction books.

Even scientific books that are out of date have deep insights into nature for example the origin of species, what is life?, and origin and history of conscientious.

Also my sentiment. Good fictional storytelling describes the corners and in-betweens of human experience; non-fiction typically describes a mix of technical tools(basically trade skills and weaponizable knowledge) and self-promotion(the book was in some fashion written for a career purpose).

The exceptions abound, of course, but categorically speaking, you only need some technical knowledge. It's the "how to lead your life" knowledge that is harder to glean, and one most resistant to taking a head-on approach like studying all the philosophers and then ranking their greatness in a spreadsheet.

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