But is it a geometrical cone, a conifer tree like thing, a psuedo-control device, or what.

I consider my self pretty literate (I was assessed as reading at a college level by the 4th grade), and I've never heard that word.

More importantly, they can look absolutely nothing like cones.

Would you identify this as "cone like" if it wasn't for the URL? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conoid#/media/File:Pluecker-co...