"Putting that puzzle together with the right type of individuals is big, " Towers said.

WSJ: D-Backs Get Down and Dirty

The neater the plotting, the more the audience can detach itself a bit like Walt himself and view events as a type of meta-puzzle: can the stakes rise even higher?

NEWYORKER: Child��s Play

The puzzle is then more one of poker-type psychology than pure mathematics.

ECONOMIST: Letters | The