Distilling famous thinkers

Should we approach famous thinkers by digesting distilled versions, or should we study them in the original?

I sided with  Tyler Cowen on this. Especially point 3 and 4.

3. The errors of top thinkers are often more interesting and instructive than their successes.  Distillers have a hard time capturing these errors and their fruitfulness.

4. We often read great thinkers not to learn what they understood but also to set our minds racing and to find interesting new questions.  Great thinkers are usually better at supplying this service than are their distillers.

Reading books is like a conversation with the authors. Surely I want to talk to those great thinkers.