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Scott Adams

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For other people named Scott Adams, see Scott Adams (disambiguation).
Scott Adams
Scott Adams
NationalityUnited States American
Area(s)artist, writer
Notable works
Dilbert

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Scott Raymond Adams (born June 8, 1957) is the creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of several business commentaries, social satires and experimental philosophy books.

Personal life

Scott Adams was born in Windham, New York in 1957 and received his Bachelor's degree in Economics from Hartwick College in 1979. He also studied economics and management for his 1986 MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

In recent years, Adams has had a series of debilitating health problems. Since late 2004, he has suffered from a reemergence of his focal dystonia which has affected his drawing,[1] though he can work around the problem by drawing using a graphics tablet. He also suffers from spasmodic dysphonia, a condition that causes the vocal cords to behave in an abnormal manner. He recovered from this condition temporarily but in July 2008 underwent surgery to rewire the nerve connections to his vocal cord. As of October 2008, Adams reports he has regained the ability to speak, though not yet to shout[2]. His condition is expected to continue improving over time as the nerve pathways regenerate.

Adams is trained as a hypnotist and is a vegetarian.[3] He is a strong believer in affirmations, which he credits with his career, Dilbert's success, a ninety-four on a difficult qualification test for Berkeley, among other unlikely events.[4]

He married Shelly Miles in 2006.

He has described his own political views as "Libertarian, minus the crazy stuff,"[5] and he supported Michael Bloomberg for president in 2008.

Career

Adams writes in a semi-satirical, often sarcastic way about the social and mental landscape of white-collar workers in modern corporations and other large enterprises. The style is reminiscent of other writers in this genre, for example C. Northcote Parkinson.

Prior to his success as a writer/cartoonist, Adams worked closely with telecommunications engineers at Crocker National Bank in San Francisco between 1979 and 1986, and at Pacific Bell between 1986 and June 1995, and draws on their personalities for those of his Dilbert characters. Adams first published Dilbert in 1989, while still employed at Pacific Bell.

He is also the CEO of Scott Adams Foods, Inc., makers of the Dilberito & Protein Chef, and a co-owner of Stacey's Café in Pleasanton, California. Much of his interest in the food business comes from the fact that he is a vegetarian.

Stephan Pastis, creator of Pearls Before Swine, credits Adams for launching his career as a cartoonist.

In 1997, at the invitation of Logitech CEO Pierluigi Zappacosta, Adams, wearing a wig and false mustache, successfully impersonated a management consultant and tricked Logitech managers into adopting a mission statement that Adams described as "so impossibly complicated that it has no real context whatsoever."[6]

Adams is an avid fan of the science fiction TV series Babylon 5. He appeared in the season 4 episode "Moments of Transition" as a character named "Mr. Adams," who hires former head of security Michael Garibaldi to locate his megalomaniacal dog and cat. He also had a cameo in a third-season episode of NewsRadio, in which the character Matthew Brock, played by Andy Dick, becomes an obsessed Dilbert fan.

He is a member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.

Publications

Awards

Adams has received a great deal of recognition for his work, including the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award and Newspaper Comic Strip Award for 1997 for his work on Dilbert. He had also been climbing the Suntop Media & European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) rankings of the 50 most influential management thinkers placing 31st in 2001,[7] 27th in 2003,[8] and 12th in 2005,[9], but fell to 21st in 2007.[10] He is also a member of Mensa.[11]

He received the NCTE George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language for his participation in "Mission Impertinent" (San Jose Mercury News West Magazine, November 16, 1997).

Coined phrases

Adams has coined or popularized words and phrases over the years, such as:

"Cow-orker" was a pre-existing word from Usenet that Adams popularized through his newsletter. Similarly, "Induhvidual" gained popularity through the newsletter, though it was coined by a reader.

References

  1. ^ "Scott Adams, Drawing the Line". The Washington Post. 2005-05-10. Retrieved 2008-01-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Zachary Kanin (2008-10-29). "An Interview with the "Dilbert" Cartoonist Scott Adams". New Yorker. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
  3. ^ Mentioned in Dilbert: A Treasury of Sunday Strips
  4. ^ Mentioned in The Dilbert Future
  5. ^ http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/16/dilbert.economy/index.html
  6. ^ http://web.mit.edu/jcb/humor/scott-adams-mgmt-consultant
  7. ^ "2001 Results". The Thinkers 50. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
  8. ^ "2003 Results". The Thinkers 50. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
  9. ^ "2005 Results". The Thinkers 50. Retrieved 2008-01-28.
  10. ^ "2007 Results". The Thinkers 50. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
  11. ^ Alexander, Bernie. "Mensa: Are You Smart Enough?". AskMen.com. Retrieved 2007-10-11.
  12. ^ http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/02/philosotainment.html
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