I'm sure it's just autism, but I start taking machines apart in my head, or go through steps of a project I'm in the middle of. I can walk through step by step of how every part interacts, visualize how it moves and where the wear and contact points are, which tool I need for fastener X, Y and Z.... then go farther down, and think about how each part would itself be cast, machined, welded, and packaged for assembly. Somewhere in the rote repetition of it, I'll pass clean out.