Wait so you had an interesting conversation with a guy, and you spin this as ... a win, because you... let down some expectations that you just imagined he had?
You imagine you 'trapped' him into this conversation, like the entire thing was a dominance battle?
He... started it.
Maybe dude was just bored, thought you might make a good conversation partner, and this turned out to be correct.
'Confusion' that you saw could just be, you know, confusion in the sense of 'wow i've never heard of these specific ideas and concepts before, and am trying to wrap my brain around them'.
Contrary to apparently popular opinion, some guys just want to have a pleasant conversation with a stranger, sometimes.
And those guys, if you just tell them you're not in the mood for a conversation, they'll probably understand and respect that.
Is there really no other way to conceive of socializing than as a 24/7 pvp battle of wits and hidden intentions?