Regardless of engineering background or not, I do believe this is a major different between men and women in general.

I know I'm guilty of the same thing and I'm positive many others here have had very similar experiences.

IN GENERAL, it seems when guys talk to someone else, they are likely looking for input into a situation. If we didn't want input, we would just sit and ruminate in our own personal thoughts processes.

Your story is also a great lesson in why communication is key - unfortunately it takes both parties to realize this!