In a hierarchical profile, each node represents at least one feature of behavioral data collected (300) about an entity (102) profiled, with the topmost node selected (306) as the "statistically most informative" feature of the data. A profile can cover numerous domains and be predictively very powerful in each domain. A number of observations can be "aggregated" (316) together into a single datapoint. In use, the structure of the profile is compared (402) against current information associated with the entity to produce (406) a recommendation or prediction. If the profile represents at least some data aggregation, then new observations (500) are folded (504a, 504b, 504c) into the profile based on statistical weights of the aggregations. Because of the way the profile is created and updated, its hierarchical structure maps the collected observations. Therefore, as new observations are incorporated, if the new observations change (600a) the profile's structure significantly, then it can be hypothesized (602) that something "interesting" has happened to the entity.
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