Photography by Danielle Levitt
Silver has always been a dreamer. "In fifth grade we wrote biographies of ourselves in the future," he recalls. "I was quite full of myself; I became baseball commissioner." Lately, the writer- slash-statistician has been pouring much of his time, energy, and superhuman analytical skills into relaunching FiveThirtyEight, his website dedicated to data-driven reporting. After a celebrated association with The New York Times--where his 2012 election forecasts were catnip for political junkies--he has now partnered with ESPN. In vintage fashion, he's dreaming big. "Politics and sports are our bread and butter, but I read a column by someone who's looking at the mathematics of beer," he says. "It's a big world out there."
Photographed at Fast Ashley's Studio in Brooklyn, N.Y., on September 5, 2013
