Kristian G. AndersenGeverifieerd account

So then there is what it actually ‘means’ which I struggle with. As a visualization it looks nice (sort of) but is very difficult to interpret epidemiologically. There is no indication of time which is a huge failing in an epi viz.

*This* is the bit I want to know about - on behalf of all humanity of course! The key & exchange in the site tells me most of the other stuff you've listed. But what does it meeeeaaan.

Phylogenetic trees can be hard to interpret correctly in an epidemiological context but these are much harder. There is no directionality. Also the underlying reconstruction method is very simplistic and that concerns me. I feel these plots are a definite regression.

Nor is there any indication of uncertainty/error.

My worry is that these graphs are becoming popular largely because the software is (very) quick and easy to use. You just load an alignment and the graph’s made instantly. No hard decisions to be made. Curse those people that make easy software. This is why we have a command line