> My issue with sprints is that they arbitrarily reduce the solution space - instead of asking "what's the right way to do this?", you ask "how much can we hack out in 2 weeks to show progress?"

I think this is the most common way that the concept is abused, and it's very, very easy to fall into this trap. I suspect that it comes from an idea that the sprint length is sacrosanct so having tasks that go beyond a single sprint is to be avoided. Sprints should be a planning tool, not a hardcore thing.