This article in Sunday's New York Times profiles Nate Silver, a numbers guy who started the political Website FiveThirtyEight.com and has won a popular following by correctly predicting the outcome of political races. Prior to that, he made a living analyzing baseball statistics. (Check out this In Person piece about another scientist who makes a living analyzing baseball.)
Some people who have analyzed his work say that Silver's methods are primitive and wouldn't pass muster on an undergrad lab report. But it's hard to argue with his record. (His most impressive achievement, in my view: Identifying the last-place Tampa Bay Rays as one of the top teams in baseball for 2008.)
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