Scott Raymond Adams (born June 8, 1957) is an American author and cartoonist. He is the creator of theDilbert comic strip and the author of several nonfiction works of business, commentary, and satire. Adams worked in various clerical roles before he became a full-time cartoonist in 1995. While working atPacific Bell in 1989, Adams createdDilbert; by the mid-1990s the strip had gained national prominence in America and began to reach a worldwide audience.Dilbert remained popular throughout the following decades, spawning several books written by Adams.
Adams writes in asatirical way about the social and psychological landscape ofwhite-collar workers in modern corporations. In addition, Adams has written books in various other areas, including thepandeistic spiritual novellaGod's Debris and books on political and management topics, includingLoserthink.
In February 2023,Dilbert was dropped by numerous newspapers and its distributor,Andrews McMeel Syndication, after Adams published a video in which he referred to black people as a "hate group" and advised white people to "get the hell away from black people." Adams later said this was a use of hyperbole.[2][3] Adams then relaunched the strip as awebcomic on hislocals.com website.
Adams was born on June 8, 1957,[4] inWindham, New York, the son of Paul and Virginia (née Vining) Adams.[5][6] He has described himself as "about half German"[7] and also has English, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, and Dutch ancestry.[8][9] In 2016, Adams said he had a small amount ofNative American ancestry,[10] but later discovered via23andme genetic testing that he does not have any detectable Native American genetic markers.[11] He was a fan ofPeanuts comics while growing up and started drawing comics at age 6.[12] He won a drawing competition at age 11.[12]
Adams worked closely with telecommunications engineers atCrocker National Bank in San Francisco between 1979 and 1986. Upon joining the organization, he first worked as ateller. After four months in which he was twice held up at gunpoint, he entered a management training program.[12] His positions included management trainee, computer programmer, budget analyst, commercial lender, product manager, and supervisor.[12]
He later shifted to work atPacific Bell. To devote time to developing a new career, he woke up every day at 4 a.m. and spent time at various endeavors; cartooning proved to be the most successful of them. Adams createdDilbert during this period of personal exploration.[16] TheDilbert name was suggested by his former boss, Mike Goodwin. Dogbert, originally named Dildog, was loosely based on his family's deceased petbeagle Lucy.[12] His submissions ofDilbert and other comic panels to various publications, includingThe New Yorker andPlayboy, were not published, but an inspirational letter from a fan persuaded Adams to keep trying.[12] He worked at Pacific Bell between 1986 and June 30, 1995, and the personalities he encountered there inspired many of hisDilbert characters.[17] In 1989, while still employed at Pacific Bell, Adams launchedDilbert withUnited Media. To maintain his income, he continued to draw his cartoons during the early morning hours. His first payment forDilbert was a monthly royalty check of $368.62.[12]Dilbert gradually became more popular. It was syndicated in 100 newspapers in 1991 and 400 by 1994. Adams attributed his success to his idea of including his email address in the panels, which resulted in feedback and suggestions from readers.[12]
Adams' success grew, and he became a full-time cartoonist asDilbert reached 800 newspapers. In 1996, his first business book,The Dilbert Principle, was released. It expounded on his concept of theDilbert principle.[12]
In 1997, Adams won theNational Cartoonists Society's Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist and Best Newspaper Comic Strip.[12]Logitech CEOPierluigi Zappacosta invited Adams to impersonate a management consultant, which he did wearing a wig and false mustache. He tricked Logitech managers into adopting amission statement that Adams described as "so impossibly complicated that it has no real content whatsoever".[18][19] His writing inSan Jose Mercury News West Magazine regarding the incident earned him anOrwell Award.[20] By 2000, the comic was in 2,000 newspapers in 57 countries and 19 languages.[12]
His comic strips were adapted as aDilbert TV series, which debuted in January 1999 and ran for two seasons onUPN. Adams served as executive producer and showrunner, along withSeinfeld writerLarry Charles. The show earned aPrimetime Emmy Award in 1999. Adams later asserted in his bookDilbert 2.0: 20 Years of Dilbert and to his followers onTwitter that the show had been canceled because he waswhite and UPN had made a decision to shift towardAfrican-American viewers.[21][22]
In addition to his cartoon work, Adams has written books in various other areas, including self-improvement and religion.[21] His bookGod's Debris (2001) lays out a theory ofpandeism, in which God blows itself up to see what will happen, which becomes the cause of our universe.[23] InThe Religion War (2004), Adams suggests that followers of theistic religions such asChristianity andIslam are subconsciously aware that their religions are false, and that this awareness is reflected in their consistently acting as if these religions, and their threats of damnation for sinners, are false. In a 2017 interview, Adams said that his books on religion, notDilbert, would be his ultimate legacy.[21] In 2023, Adams announced in a pinned tweet that he had re-publishedGod's Debris for free for his subscribers, and would shortly publish an AI-voiced audiobook version.[24]
In 2015, Adams wrote blog posts predicting thatDonald Trump had a 98 percent chance of winning the presidency based on his persuasion skills, and he started writing about Trump's persuasion techniques. His pieces on this topic grew popular, so he started writing about it regularly.[25] Adams soon developed this as a daily video presentation calledReal Coffee with Scott Adams, distributed toPeriscope,YouTube, ScottAdamsSays.com,[26] andLocals, where he covered topics such as current events, politics, persuasion, and routes to success.[27]
Adams offers paid subscriptions for exclusive content onLocals.[48] In 2020, Adams said: "For context, I expect my Dilbert income to largely disappear in the next year as newspapers close up forever. Thecoronavirus sped up that inevitable trend. Like many of you, I'm reinventing my life for a post-coronavirus world. The Locals platform is a big part of that."[49]
Adams started Scott Adams Foods, Inc. in 1999, which made theDilberito and Protein Chef. He sold off his intellectual property in this venture when the product failed in the marketplace in 2003. He was a restaurateur starting in 1997, but exited that business.[50][21]
Adams co-founded the service WhenHub, which has been described by Gizmodo as "similar toCameo ... except instead of pre-recorded messages from movie stars and rappers, it offers live chats with a range of subject-matter experts".[51][52] In 2019, Adams briefly received negative media attention when during theGilroy Garlic Festival shooting he posted a tweet suggesting that witnesses download the WhenHub app and "set your price to take calls". He later apologized, saying the message was "poorly worded".[53][54] As of 2024,[update] the WhenHub website is inactive.[55]
Adams was a fan of the science fiction TV seriesBabylon 5. He appeared in the season 4 episode "Moments of Transition" as a character named "Mr. Adams" who hires former head of securityMichael Garibaldi to locate his megalomaniacal dog and cat.[56] He had a cameo in "Review", a third-season episode of the TV seriesNewsRadio, in which Matthew Brock (played byAndy Dick) becomes an obsessedDilbert fan. Adams is credited as "Guy in line behind Dave and Joe in first scene".[57]
Adams has often commented on political and social matters. In 2016, he wrote on his blog: "I don't vote and I am not a member of a political party."[72] In 2007, he suggested thatMichael Bloomberg would make a good presidential candidate.[73] Before the 2008 presidential election, he said: "On social issues, I leanlibertarian, minus the crazy stuff."[74] In December 2011, he said that if he were president, he would do whateverBill Clinton advised him to do because that "would lead to policies that are a sensible middle ground".[75] On October 17, 2012, he wrote, "While I don't agree withRomney's positions on most topics, I'm endorsing him for president."[76] During the 2016 presidential election, Adams repeatedly praisedDonald Trump's persuasion skills,[77][78] and extensively detailed what he called Trump's "talent stack",[79] correctly predicting that Trump would win theRepublican nomination and the general election.[80][21] In 2018, Adams similarly praised the persuasion skills ofAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez.[81] In a blog post from September 2017, Adams described himself as being "left ofBernie Sanders, but with a preference for plans that can work".[82]
Of the2016 Democratic National Convention, Adams said: "If you're an undecided voter, and male, you're seeing ... a celebration that your role in society is permanently diminished. And it's happening in an impressive venue that was, in all likelihood, designed and built mostly by men."[83] Adams said that he temporarily endorsedHillary Clinton out of fear for his own life, stating that he had received direct and indirect death threats ("Where I live, in California, it is not safe to be seen as supportive of anything Trump says or does. So I fixed that.").[84] In late September, Adams switched his endorsement from Clinton to Trump. Among his stated primary reasons were his respect for Trump's persuasion skills, Clinton's proposal to raise theinheritance tax, and his concerns over Clinton's health.[85] In mid-October, Adams predicted a Clinton victory would ensure that a male president would never again be elected.[86] He has also stated that writing positively about Trump and supporting him ended his public speaking career and decreased his income by about 40% and number of friends by about 75%.[84][87]
Adams predicted in March 2020 that Trump, Sanders, andJoe Biden would all contractCOVID-19 and that one of them would die from it by the end of the year; in December 2020, when all three men remained alive (although Trump had caught the virus),Politico named Adams's prediction one of "the most audacious, confident and spectacularly incorrect prognostications about the year".[88] Adams received further attention in December 2021, in reference to his July 2020 predictions that if Biden were to win the2020 U.S. presidential election, "there's a good chance you will be dead within the year", "Republicans will be hunted", and that "[p]olice will stand down",[89] none of which ultimately occurred.[90] On September 30, 2021, Adams had also tweeted, "My worst prediction of all time was 'If Biden gets elected, there's a good chance you will be dead in a year.' It was closer to two years. I missed it by 100%," which also did not occur.[91] He also incorrectly predicted in 2024 that there would be a "landslide" of claims of a rigged election, and the Supreme Court would simply overturn the election result to award Trump a win if he lost. However, Trump did win in 2024, and no court cases were involved.[92]
Adams has compared women asking for equal pay to children demanding candy.[93] Aftera 2022 mass shooting, Adams tweeted that society leaves parents of troubled teenage boys with only two options: to either watch people die, or murder their own son. He said his comments were inspired by his own stepson, who became addicted to drugs at the age of 14 and later died of afentanyl overdose.[94][95] Adams's comments were roundly criticized, including byJames Gunn, who described himself as a former "violent teenager addicted to drugs [who] entered recovery with the help & love of his family".[96]
In January 2023, Adams announced that he was considering taking legal action against political cartoonistBen Garrison fordefamation, after Garrison published a cartoon that depicted Adams as pro-masking and pro-COVID-19 vaccines.[97] Adams later suggested on a podcast[98] that people unvaccinated against COVID-19 were less likely to contract the disease than vaccinated people, despite evidence to the contrary.[99]
In a 2006 blog post, Adams questioned the number of deaths in theHolocaust,[100][101] writing, "Is it the sort of number that is so well documented with actual names and perhaps a Nazi paper trail that no historian could doubt its accuracy, give or take ten thousand? Or is it like every other LRN (large round number) that someone pulled out of his ass and it became true by repetition?"[101]
In 2018, Adams said the idea that Trump had praised thewhite supremacists at the 2017Unite the Right rally was "fake news".[102] In 2023, he falsely claimed the rally was "an American intel op against Trump."[103]
On June 28, 2020, Adams said onTwitter that theDilbert TV show was cancelled because he was white and UPN had decided to focus on an African-American audience, and that he had been "discriminated against".[104] In a series of comic strips in September 2022,Dilbert parodiedenvironmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) strategies. Part of the plotline involved a black character who "identif[ied] as white" and the company management asking him if he could also identify as gay.[105] According to Adams, the week of September 19,Dilbert was pulled from 77 newspapers owned byLee Enterprises. Adams also claimed that the cancellation was coincidental.[106][107]
On February 22, 2023, Adams responded to a poll byRasmussen Reports that asked respondents if they agreed with the statement "it's okay to be white",[108][106] a seemingly innocuous phrase that theAnti-Defamation League said was being used online in 2017 as part of analt-right trolling campaign and is associated with the white supremacist movement.[3][109] The poll showed 53% of black respondents agreed with the phrase, 26% disagreed, and 21% were not sure.[110] On a YouTubelivestream of hisReal Coffee with Scott Adams program, Adams, who said he was upset that nearly half did not agree, characterized black people as a "hate group" and said "the best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell away from black people; just get the fuck away."[2][111][112] His comments were widely characterized as racist.[110][113][114] In response to these and other related comments,Dilbert was dropped by numerous newspapers across the country, including theLos Angeles Times,The Washington Post, andUSA Today-affiliated newspapers.[110][115][116]Andrews McMeel Syndication, the distributor ofDilbert, announced on February 27, 2023 that it was severing all ties with Adams.[117][110]Portfolio, his book publisher, announced it was dropping his non-Dilbert book that was scheduled for release in September 2023.[118][119]
In response to the incident, Adams said his remarks werehyperbole and that the stories reported about them ignored the context; he conjectured that nobody would disagree with his main points and stated he disavowed racists.[3][120] Adams announced that on March 13, 2023, the strip would return asDilbert Reborn on the subscription websiteLocals.[121][122]
Since late 2004, Adams has hadfocal dystonia, which has affected his ability to draw for lengthy periods.[123] He now draws on agraphics tablet. He also hadspasmodic dysphonia, a condition that causes thevocal cords to behave abnormally. In July 2008, he underwent surgery to reroute the nerve connections to his vocal cords,[124] and his voice is now completely functional.[125]
Adams married Shelly Miles aboard ayacht, theGalaxy Commodore, on July 22, 2006, inSan Francisco Bay, in a ceremony conducted by the ship's captain.[126] The two had met at a gym inPleasanton, California, where Miles was an employee and Adams was a customer. Adams was stepfather to Miles' two children, Savannah and Justin, the latter of whom died of afentanyl overdose in 2018 at age 18.[127][128][129] Adams and Miles divorced in 2014, and Adams said the two remained friends, with Miles moving only one block away after their separation.[130]
On Christmas Day in 2019, Adams announced on his podcast that he was engaged to Kristina Basham,[131] and later revealed that they had married on July 11, 2020. Basham, a model and baker, has two daughters and is a vice president at WhenHub.[21] On March 10, 2022, Adams announced on his YouTube podcast that he and Basham were getting divorced.[132]
Adams trained as ahypnotist.[133] He creditsaffirmations for many of his achievements, including scoring in the ninety-fourth percentile on a difficult qualification exam for business school and creatingDilbert's success. He states that the affirmations give him focus.[6] He has described a method he has used that he says gave him success: he pictured in his mind what he wanted and wrote it down 15 times a day on a piece of paper.[134] (This technique is used by Dogbert in a 1989Dilbert strip.[135])
Adams continues to live in Pleasanton, California and is active in the San Francisco Bay Area.[136][137]
Adams is quoted in the bookSteve Jobs byWalter Isaacson. Adams wrote a blog post in 2010 aboutSteve Jobs' response toAntennagate, in which he says "Apple's response to the iPhone 4 problem didn't follow the public relations playbook, because Jobs decided to rewrite the playbook ... If you want to know what genius looks like, study Jobs' words."[143] Jobs proudly emailed this around.[144]
Always Postpone Meetings with Time-Wasting Morons (1992)
Shave the Whales (1994)
Bring Me the Head of Willy the Mailboy! (1995)
It's Obvious You Won't Survive by Your Wits Alone (1995)
Still Pumped from Using the Mouse (1996)
Fugitive from the Cubicle Police (1996)
Casual Day Has Gone Too Far (1997)
I'm Not Anti-Business, I'm Anti-Idiot (1998)
Journey to Cubeville (1998)
Don't Step in the Leadership (1999)
Random Acts of Management (2000)
Excuse Me While I Wag (2001)
When Did Ignorance Become a Point of View? (2001)
Another Day in Cubicle Paradise (2002)
All Dressed Down and Nowhere to Go (2002) (Still Pumped from Using the Mouse,Casual Day Has Gone Too Far, andI'm Not Anti-Business, I'm Anti-Idiot combined)
When Body Language Goes Bad (2003)
Words You Don't Want to Hear During Your Annual Performance Review (2003)
Don't Stand Where the Comet Is Assumed to Strike Oil (2004)
The Fluorescent Light Glistens Off Your Head (2005)
Thriving on Vague Objectives (2005)
Try Rebooting Yourself (2006)
Positive Attitude (2007)
This Is the Part Where You Pretend to Add Value (2008)
Dilbert 2.0: 20 Years of Dilbert (2008)
Freedom's Just Another Word for People Finding Out You're Useless (2009)
14 Years of Loyal Service in a Fabric-Covered Box (2009)
I'm Tempted to Stop Acting Randomly (2010)
How's That Underling Thing Working Out for You? (2011)
Teamwork Means You Can't Pick the Side that's Right (2012)
Your New Job Title Is "Accomplice" (2013)
I Sense a Coldness to Your Mentoring (2013)
Go Add Value Someplace Else (2014)
Optimism Sounds Exhausting (2015)
I'm No Scientist, But I Think Feng Shui Is Part of the Answer (2016)
^"Early Coffee with Scott Adams". October 15, 2016.Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. RetrievedMay 31, 2022.If — keep in mind that — if Clinton gets elected, there'll never be another male president. Let me say that again. If Hillary Clinton gets elected, there will never be another male president. Let me say that a third time. If Hillary Clinton gets elected. There will never be another male president.
