To me it gives the feeling of the Mac showing "real things" whereas Windows is showing some illusion, an abstract representation. Of course they're both just representations, but the Mac's solidity helps me forget that.
I think you're spot on when you mention the impression on Windows of the computer having done a tremendous amount of work just to put up that Explorer window. I note that I "irrationally" try to avoid having the computer do unneeded work — for example, if I accidentally kick off an "ls -lR" against the wrong directory, I jump to hit control-C as quickly as I can, even though I know full well that no harm beyond an infinitesimal fraction of a cent's worth of energy usage and wear & tear would be done by letting it continue to run for a few seconds.
I think you're spot on when you mention the impression on Windows of the computer having done a tremendous amount of work just to put up that Explorer window. I note that I "irrationally" try to avoid having the computer do unneeded work — for example, if I accidentally kick off an "ls -lR" against the wrong directory, I jump to hit control-C as quickly as I can, even though I know full well that no harm beyond an infinitesimal fraction of a cent's worth of energy usage and wear & tear would be done by letting it continue to run for a few seconds.