> "reasoning about" (boy do I hate that phrase...)

A bit tangential, but I find myself disliking it too, for no good reason that I can think of.

Perhaps it's something of a crutch in that it's really "I like it more, but 'reason' sounds better" ? Not sure that's quite it, either, as in the above case with a "new everything per request", it's certainly true that it's easier to think about what's happening.