This isn't a black-and-white tactic. If you do this with people who know their stuff, they will just take it as you undermining them.
Yes it's called being XYed and it's infuriating when some condescending person decides they know so much better than you that even your question is wrong.
I think it depends on the individual and the culture. In a strong culture, engineers don’t their egos get in the way of healthy conversations and will be capable of defending their position against probing questions without it upsetting them.