Never denegrate another pilot for wanting to know more about his craft.
Hear, hear! Learning about the systems is beneficial in all sorts of ways, as is helping out in the hangar and seeing the bits and pieces normally covered by panels. Explanations like the one by CTR above are great too - it's all well and good to know what something does, but why it does it gives you another level of understanding altogether.
Ask more questions, I reckon ... the answers are often interesting and helpful for others too.