Even when picking single strings, rather than strumming chords, the other strings of your instrument still vibrate sympathetically and presumably contribute something - perhaps even something important - to the overall sound of the note. The extent to which this happens is clear to me when I pick a note and then immediately damp that one string with my thumb pad. The entire sound does not die immediately. Far from it. So here is my question:
When you are picking single notes, does it matter whether your left hand makes the entire relevant chord that is happening in the tune at that point? Presumably that would change some of the overtones being contributed by the unpicked, sympathetically vibrating strings. For example, if you were in say, double D tuning and you picked an open second string (a D), would it make a noticeable difference whether all the other strings were open or whether you were making a D or a G chord by fretting the first, or the first and third strings? Ditto for the third string when the tune is on an A chord (for which you would fret the 2nd and 4th strings).
I have done the experiment and I can't decide.