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Spectrum is just imagery for a continuum, which autism is. Would you prefer diapason[1], as in the full range of a thing's sound? [1] Through bad spelling (and
by drewcoo 5y ago
Spectrum is just imagery for a continuum, which autism is. Would you prefer diapason[1], as in the full range of a thing's sound?
[1] Through bad spelling (and not synesthesia) I typed "diapasm" first, but it seemed wrong. Turns out it's smelly and not soundy.
- pxc 5y agoImo, 'continuum' still fails to clearly connote the characteristic of having multiple dimensions of variation rather than just one, even though in some contexts (like in the phrase 'space-time continuum') it is used to name something more structurally analogous to 'spectrum disorders' than spectrums.
- maximus-decimus 5y agoThe whole article is about how it's not a continuum but a set of discrete unrelated traits.
- pxc 5y agoAnd it chooses language that undermines or at least clashes with its point, e.g., > Red isn’t “more spectrum” than green or blue. Apples aren’t “more fruit” than oranges. That’s not how it works. Red 'is' in fact 'more wavelength' than green or blue. That's exactly how it works. The confusion the author bemoans comes from people actually knowing what characterizes a spectrum in general and taking that to apply when they hear the phrase 'autism spectrum'. The phrase itself is misleading.