[legends2k]

The author laments about the relationship being asymmetric when they think it is symmetric. The fact that someone is teaching someone makes this asymmetric, no? Mentor-Mentee relationship is asymmetric. Giver-receiver relationships are asymmetric. Nothing wrong about that as long as both respect each other.

[re]

Also asymmetric about the relationship is that the asker usually gets something more measurably valuable out of the exchange (getting unblocked on a problem, often one that they're working on for money) whereas the answerer is frequently doing it only out of a sense of altruism, for the satisfaction of helping others, or for their own entertainment.