I've thought about this some more and I've come up with a scenario in which giving someone the answer works. It's worked on me and it's worked for me. In a true mentor/coach type role, you can tell someone what to do if you happen to have experienced a problem very much like what the person you are helping is going through. You cannot dictate what they shall do but you can tell them what they should do.
This, again, has very to do with intellect or training and very much to do with real world experience. If you've never ridden a bike before and someone else has, you could possess twice their mental capacity and they would still be able to teach you something because they've done it before. Furthermore, it's an offering of knowledge rather than a binding of rules. There is no guarantee that you will follow the instructions but, if you do, there is a benefit to you. If you don't, then you get the benefit when you eventually come around.
I've experienced this in the work world. Those who've taken it upon themselves to help me have patiently explained how to patiently explain things, knowing that I won't necessarily (or even likely) do what they suggest. Likewise, I've explained how to do technical things to people who refused to adapt, knowing that even though they weren't going to start that day, they may eventually start seeing things my way.
In contrast, the opposite has happened. I've see brilliant and enthusiastic students try something out right away to see if it works. Likewise, certain things have clicked with me right away, leading to nearly instant adoption.
In all those scenarios, it didn't matter who was the teacher or how intelligent they were. It matters a little bit how smart the student is but it matters a lot more how ready to hear the lesson they are.
So if you really feel the need to go out and better people's lives by telling them what to do, you can do a lot of good by picking a topic on which you have experience and mentoring young people. A hell of a lot more good than you would by trying to get rules made that people must follow.
