As an engineer, I like things being presented clearly, with as few ambiguities as possible. Ideally, I'd like to see all the working - show me not just how the rules fit together, but also the reasoning that led to them, the various break-points that have been applied, and so forth. This gives a much stronger foundation for running the game (since I can understand why as well as what the rules are saying), and also gives a much better foundation for modifications.
On the other hand, there are some key areas where it's better not to show the working - basically, in anything player-facing, and most of the setting details regardless of source, it's probably better not to have the underlying themes shown up - yes, if orcs represent the rejection of social norms while hobgoblins represent the corruption of those same norms, that allows for a lot of cool storytelling... but the DM should know that and use it to tell his stories; the players probably should not be beaten about the head with it.
Basically, while the 'why' is really useful, sometimes it's better just to have the 'what' and thus retain more of the magic.
(See also the dichotomy between symettry, which is aesthetically pleasing, and creative asymettry which is more interesting...)
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