January 13, 2026
Cubicles vs conscience
'Dilbert' creator Scott Adams dies at 68 after prostate cancer battle
Internet splits: love the comic, debate the man
TLDR: Scott Adams, creator of “Dilbert,” died at 68 after cancer, leaving a final note and a complicated legacy. Comments split between mourning the comic and condemning the man, with dupe flags, personal cancer stories, and debates over whether Dilbert in the office is a warning sign.
Scott Adams, the mind behind office-culture staple “Dilbert,” has died at 68 after a battle with prostate cancer. His ex-wife read a final note where he said his body failed before his brain and he accepted Jesus. The news landed, and the comment section instantly turned into a cubicle-sized culture war. First came the meta: the dupe police blared sirens twice with quick “[dupe]” flags and a link, because it’s not a Hacker News thread until someone calls redundancy. Then came the heart: one user shared losing an uncle at 65, “sharp as a tack… gone so soon,” grounding the frenzy in real grief.
But the biggest clash was the art vs. artist fight. One commenter summed it up: “I loved his art. I did not love the man.” Others took it further, saying seeing Dilbert in an office was a red flag about the workplace itself. The old scandal—Adams’ racist remarks that torpedoed his newspaper run—returned center stage, with folks arguing whether corporate satire can be separated from the creator’s controversies. There were wry nods to cubicle life (“Dilbert in the breakroom? Brace for chaos”) and quiet salutes to the final message’s humanity. In short: a legacy that once united office workers now splits the internet, and the comments are where the real punchlines—and punches—land.
Key Points
- •Scott Adams, creator of “Dilbert,” died at 68 after prostate cancer that had spread to his bones.
- •His ex-wife, Shelly Miles, confirmed his death during a Jan. 13 livestream of “Real Coffee with Scott Adams.”
- •Adams left a New Year’s Day letter stating his body failed before his brain and declaring acceptance of Jesus Christ.
- •“Dilbert” began in 1989, earned the Reuben Award in 1997, and by 2013 was in 2,000 newspapers across 65 countries.
- •In 2023, many newspapers halted “Dilbert” after Adams’ racist comments; the strip was later relaunched on Locals as “Daily Dilbert Reborn.”