Sharing of Knowledge with Everyone

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I'm unsure if I should share openly information with everyone. I've had an experience with a local friend who never shares anything new with me, and I'm always sharing good information that he wasn't aware of. He has, in the past, then clinged onto this knowledge and claimed to have thought about them for a long time, and has presented himself as such to a professor and has made slight comments to him to make me look like the weaker student. He knows that I'm going to be looking for a research position soon too, as is he.

There are others online like him I'm sure, it's difficult for me to distinguish between personalities through text. I want to share information with others, but I feel like I'm in competition with them for jobs, even people who seemingly pose as my friends.

Should I just share information and not think about what will happen, what jobs I will lose? Or should I withhold information? By sharing, I'm hoping that someone will become interested in one of the fields of interests and perhaps contribute something to it. By not sharing, it's going to be difficult to (a) find new friends without going to conferences and (b) that info may never get out to the person who may contribute to society.

On the other hand, what are the chances that what I'm sharing will eventually get out to the person who can contribute later on?

Isn't this a 2300 year old argument between Plato and Isocrates, between the pursuit of knowledge and the building up of a community around the knowledge?

So, should I share openly with everyone? It seems like a very complex question.

Where are you?

Britain? You should not need to ask, keep your mouth shut tight.

America? Depends on circumstances - use judgement - but the guy does not sound like a good candidate. I know the kind.

Canada? Australia? Elsewhere? Ask the people who know the place.

The way I operate generally:

If I meet someone, he seems okay, I will give him a drop of information.

If he reciprocates, I will give more. and so on.

If - like one former British colleague - he comes and like a Big Man on Campus tells ME about his great insight which is what I told him last week, he is dead to me. The swine. Yes, I mean you, Kevin.

IF you have a few good colleagues you can share insights, with bounce ideas off, collaborate with, that is a treasure.

But advancing the career of a jerk so he can destroy yours is just dumb.

Trade secrets will not be shared generously.

ruveyn