Bead roller speed controller

[Jon]

Broadly: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metacognition
Specifically: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_fixedness

To expand on mklotz's point about elemental nature of components, note Anthony McCaffrey's work:

As you break an object into its parts, ask yourself two questions. "Can I subdivide the current part further?" If yes, do so. "Does my current description imply a use?" If yes, create a more generic description involving its shape and material. For example, initially I divide a candle into its parts: wick and wax. The word "wick" implies a use: burning to emit light. So, describe it more generically as a string. Since "string" implies a use, I describe it more generically: interwoven fibrous strands. This brings to mind that I could use the wick to make a wig for my hamster. Since "interwoven fibrous strands" does not imply a use, I can stop working on wick and start working on wax. People trained in this technique solved 67% more problems that suffered from functional fixedness than a control group. This technique systematically strips away all the layers of associated uses from an object and its parts.

Cuban industrial designer Ernesto Oroza approaches the same concept through his pet theory of "technological disobedience" in which, for example, he characterizes machines as merely "all of the symbols that unify an object".