The Eyes Have It

Two takes on graphically representing the spread of the SARS epidemic:

New York Times Version: I’m not sure that the map in the background buys them anything. On the left part of the chart the location of the dots means something, on the right part placement is basically arbitrary. However, the use of dots to graphically represent the numbers involved (and to indicate which “generation” of transmission each case belongs to) makes it relatively easy to quickly assimilate extent of the epidemic. It would have been even more useful if they had found a way to mark each dot that indicated who has died of the disease (that important piece of information is now buried in the text).

Le Monde Version: Cleaner and less cluttered than the NYT version but there seems to be more numbers and the graphics only serve to broadly indicate the movements of the infected as they traveled with the disease.

[via Caterina]