The subset of old ‘mentor/mentee, parent/child, master/apprentice’ relationships that have transformed into friendships after the passage of many years, is much much smaller than the total number of such relationships being formed on a daily basis in society. I doubt it’s even 1 in 3.
Well, these relationships have a very important characteristic which is that the younger catches up with the older quite quickly and often overcomes him/her. The asymmetry is often quite a temporary matter.
I would say that most visible is this on parent/child relationship. As the child reaches adulthood, he/she becomes more and more equal with the parent. I would claim that around 30 they are pretty much equals. And the relationships (at least from what I observed) become very symmetrical: parent brings up his/her problems as often as child. As the parent becomes older, the roles often reverse a lot. It’s the child that needs to help the aging parent to navigate the world.
Lastly, you mention 1⁄3 as somehow being a low factor. I don’t know what the true factor is but I would consider 1⁄3 to be quite a good ROI ;-)
Those are examples of clear superior/subordinate relations though, not friendships.
I agree. But also, they often transform into friendship over time.
The subset of old ‘mentor/mentee, parent/child, master/apprentice’ relationships that have transformed into friendships after the passage of many years, is much much smaller than the total number of such relationships being formed on a daily basis in society. I doubt it’s even 1 in 3.
Well, these relationships have a very important characteristic which is that the younger catches up with the older quite quickly and often overcomes him/her. The asymmetry is often quite a temporary matter.
I would say that most visible is this on parent/child relationship. As the child reaches adulthood, he/she becomes more and more equal with the parent. I would claim that around 30 they are pretty much equals. And the relationships (at least from what I observed) become very symmetrical: parent brings up his/her problems as often as child. As the parent becomes older, the roles often reverse a lot. It’s the child that needs to help the aging parent to navigate the world.
Lastly, you mention 1⁄3 as somehow being a low factor. I don’t know what the true factor is but I would consider 1⁄3 to be quite a good ROI ;-)