I had this happen to me at a company recently. They were initially impressed with my linux knowledge and how I could port many of the processes they were previo

I had this happen to me at a company recently. They were initially impressed with my linux knowledge and how I could port many of the processes they were previously confined to windows with. However, they had an unusual server setup, and when I asked a few very basic questions about it they totally reversed their opinion of me. When my ability to actually implement functionality was incommensurate with their perception of my level of understanding, they would still privilege their perception as colored by me asking very basic questions (which despite appearances can often yield surprisingly useful/surprising information). Despite being aware of what was 'going on', and generally having high confidence, this still impacts my self perception on some level. I find when I optimize for being perceived as intelligent instead of actually trying to understand things effectively I get much better reviews. It's difficult to know which is appropriate if you want to advance your career.