Warning from what has been about what is

After watching an inspiring set of videos, it dawned on me that while generosity in sharing one’s insights and knowledge is a virtuous thing to do, be wary that there are wolves in sheep’s skin that will reuse what you have imparted and obnoxiously yet subtly show the world that they are the vessels from which said insight and knowledge originated. Gil Grissom from the original Crime Scene Investigation (CSI: Las Vegas) series is known to have said the lines, “cite your source.” Also, on the topic of communication, I cannot trust someone (0) who says one thing to me (1) and then another thing to another person (2) and another individual (3) and then conjure the impression to all parties that the idea came from either 1,2,3 but never 0.
The thing is, historically, the entangled information mess created by our hypothetical 0 or 0s always eventually reveals itself. I have witnessed this so many times. Those of us who have been scammed don’t even need to do anything despite our naivete and default notion that people are inherently good and can be trusted—the wheel of fortune keeps the balance. Be cautious. Or as I operate, a la Shakespeare’s All’s well that ends well—‘Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.’ And call out bovine excrement (aka b.s.) in graduated stages: mild to moderate (1-2x) one-on-one and in severe cases...formal discussion with all parties be it kin, friends, or acquaintances.