"I   dont necessarily know yet how Id go about it. But given the right data, I have little doubt that I could figure out the answer." It might seem absurd for an economist to dream of catching terrorists. Just as it must have seemed absurd if you were a Chicago schoolteacher, called into an office and told that, ahem, the algorithms designed by that skinny man with thick glasses had determined that you are a cheater. And that you are being fired. Steven Levitt may not fully believe in himself, but he does believe in this: teachers and criminals and real-estate agents may lie, and politicians, and even CIA analysts. But numbers dont. -THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE, AUGUST 3, 2003         What Do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers HaveinCommon?