Does thinking about things 'on a spectrum' make us more enlightened?

The concept has changed the way we think about everything from autism to homelessness. But it has its drawbacks

Black and white thinking may die hard, yet never has society been quite as comfortable with the concept of the spectrum than the present.

According to researchers at Merriam-Webster, use of the word "spectrum", in a wide range of contexts, has grown dramatically within the current decade. Coined by Isaac Newton in 1672 to describe refractions of light, today referencing a "spectrum" is almost always shorthand for acknowledging a metaphorical range of nuances.