How is "Would you explain this to me?" not a "hoop for the writer to jump through", then, if "I don't understand this" is? They sound exactly the same to me, e

How is "Would you explain this to me?" not a "hoop for the writer to jump through", then, if "I don't understand this" is? They sound exactly the same to me, except one is longer, and slightly more explicit. When I shake someone's hand and tell them my name, I expect them to understand from context that I'm expecting them to tell me their name. Nobody considers this a particularly impolite way to ask for your name. I certainly don't have to spell it out with "Would you please tell me your name?"