Ok, it would be interesting to find out what it reads the temperature at.
I think they might be overthinking it a bit with the damping comment, the filter alone would probably do more damping than the tiny sight glass. On my brick when the engine is running, the oil is below the sight glass. After the engine stops the oil level gradually comes into view, so no damping is required then. I've always thought the only reason for the silver backing plate is to make it easier to see the level. If not for the silver backing plate, if you looked through the sight glass, it would all be black. The holes in the plate allow the oil level to be the same on both sides of the plate. The holes at the top of the plate connect the air on both sides, so it's not a bubble. That's just what I've thought.