Scott Adams has died

Announcement, Verification, and Illness

• Commenters note HN learned of the death before Wikipedia updated; some emphasize Wikipedia is not a news source and should wait for secondary confirmation.
• Reported cause: prostate cancer at 68, with recent paralysis, heart failure, hospice care, and a public expectation that “January will be a month of transition.”
• Some are struck by how fast his health declined and link this to reflections on aging, mortality, and the coming wave of Boomer deaths and estate cleanouts.

Dilbert’s Cultural Impact

• Many recall Dilbert as formative for understanding corporate life, especially in the 90s–2000s tech and telco world.
• Strips were widely taped to cubicles and fridges; several describe eerie parallels between their workplaces and his characters.
• His early books (e.g., The Dilbert Principle) and specific chapters or strips are cited as some of the funniest and most insightful business satire they’d seen.
• Fans also credit his writing on “systems vs goals,” compounded skills, persuasion, and practical finance with improving their careers and habits.

Later Years: Politics, Racism, and Radicalization

• Many say the “Scott Adams of Dilbert” effectively “died years ago,” replaced by a highly online persona aligned with Trump and right‑wing media.
• His statements about Black people (“get the hell away,” “hate group”) and earlier Holocaust-death-toll questioning are repeatedly cited as unambiguous racism.
• Others argue he was a contrarian or “standard boomer conservative,” claiming context (polls, DEI resentment) is omitted and accusing media of distortion.
• There’s debate over whether his trajectory was always visible (early DEI grievances, magical thinking, affirmations, strange physics ideas) or a later break linked to divorce, child’s overdose, social media, and Fox News.

Art, Legacy, and “Speaking Ill of the Dead”

• A major thread contrasts love for Dilbert with disgust at his later views; many consciously separate “art from artist,” others say his bigotry permanently taints the work.
• The norm of “don’t speak ill of the dead” is heavily contested: some see criticism now as cruel; others insist harms must still be named, especially for public figures.
• Several frame his life as a cautionary tale about fame, ego, echo chambers, and “Twitter poisoning,” while still expressing gratitude for the humor and insight that shaped them.