Does flipping the kernel in image processing only help maintain mathematical symmetry?

Question

So I've been really confused about the act of flipping a kernel in image processing. Is there any intuitive way to think about it or does it only help computing efficiently and maintain the mathematical symmetry?
Do we necessarily flip a kernel in image processing? (say the kernel is not symmetrical). Do we only flip it because we'll put it in a convolution later? Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Flipping the kernel comes from the pure-math context of a convolution, where it is a natural thing to do. See this part of 3b1b's video on convolutions where he gives a great intuitive answer to your question.