In my daily work as a researcher at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences I do quite a lot of popular scientific presentations to a wide range of audience. I have to admit that I am always a bit hesitant to share these presentations even though I think that openness should be a corner stone of the universities. 

The reason for hesitating is not that someone else would take credit for my work or that is not good enough to share, which seems to be a common reason for many academics (1). It is the fear that what I say today may not be valid tomorrow as this field of research changes rapidly but my main concern is misuse or misinterpretation of the material. 

My field of research is developing new methods for plant breeding, which sometimes, to some people, involves some controversial issues. The first obvious thing is genetic modified plants, or GMOs. The second is eco/bioorganic farming vs conventional farming and the third is the overall climate impact of the agricultural industry. I am neither interested in being the front person nor the target for some of the more extreme groups that have a firm opinion about these subjects. If I think in a broader perspective this does not feel so great, if everyone reasons like me, it is like giving in to these extreme groups. The Sharing and Openness topic of the ONL course now got me thinking of how I can be more open and share my work without getting caught in the line of fire.

1) https://blog.nus.edu.sg/openeducation/audio-podcast/