Scott Raymond Adams (born June 8, 1957) is an American author and cartoonist. He is the creator of the syndicated Dilbert comic strip, and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, and business. Dilbert gained national prominence during the downsizing period in 1990s America and reached a worldwide audience. Adams worked in various business roles before he became a full-time cartoonist in 1995. He writes in a satirical, often sarcastic way about the social and psychological landscape of white-collar workers in modern corporations. In addition, Adams has written books in various other areas, including the spiritual experiment God's Debris encapsulating a form of pandeism, and books on political and management topics, including Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don't Matter. Adams has frequently made controversial comments about social and political issues. In 2023, Dilbert was dropped by numerous newspapers and its distributor, Andrews McMeel Syndication, after Adams published a video which included comments about Black people that were widely described as racist. Early life and education Adams was born on June 8, 1957 in Windham, New York, the son of Paul and Virginia (née Vining) Adams. He has described himself as "about half German" and also has English, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Dutch, and a small amount of Native American ancestry. He was a fan of Peanuts comics while growing up, and started drawing comics at age 6. He won a drawing competition at age 11. Adams graduated as the valedictorian from Windham-Ashland-Jewett Central School in 1975 in a class of 39. He remained in the area and earned a BA in economics from Hartwick College in 1979. After his graduation, he moved to California and started work. Returning to graduate school, Adams earned an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley in 1986. Adams took Dale Carnegie Training and called it "life changing". Career Office worker Adams worked closely with telecommunications engineers at Crocker National Bank in San Francisco between 1979 and 1986. Upon joining the organization, he first worked as a teller. After four months in which he was twice held up at gunpoint, he entered a management training program. His positions included management trainee, computer programmer, budget analyst, commercial lender, product manager, and supervisor. He later shifted to work at Pacific Bell. To devote time to developing a new career, he woke every day at 4 a.m. and spent time at that endeavor. Cartooning