0:12 - Tribute to Scott Adams
2:24 - Reflections on Life and Death
3:59 - Scott's Health Journey
7:19 - The Highs and Lows of Life
9:38 - The Power of Humor
11:39 - Skepticism of Authority
13:55 - Scott’s Political Insights
17:34 - Breaking Class Barriers
19:49 - Personal Growth and Potential
23:09 - Urgency in Life Decisions
26:50 - Living Life Fully
28:44 - Facing Mortality and Regret
In this episode, I delve into the profound influence Scott Adams, creator of the iconic "Dilbert" comic strip, has had on my life and the lessons I’ve gleaned from his work, especially in light of his recent health struggles. Adams has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, which has metastasized to his bones, and he has expressed doubts about his longevity beyond this summer. In discussing this, I share my heartfelt sympathies and reflect on the significant role his insights and humor have played in shaping my worldview.
Adams' wit and keen observations about the absurdities of corporate culture resonate deeply with me. I recount my introduction to "Dilbert" during my time as a software entrepreneur, where I faced the complexities of navigating corrupt sales practices and dysfunctional management. Adams’ emphasis on the disconnect between competence and managerial authority, encapsulated in concepts like the Peter Principle, provided invaluable insight. His ability to carve humor from these realities not only entertained me but instilled a practical skepticism towards authority figures in both business and beyond.
Reflecting on my personal experiences, I recount sharing laughter over Adams' work with my brother on a memorable flight, emphasizing his talent for illuminating the often ridiculous nature of corporate life. I draw a parallel to my own journey from a junior programmer to a chief technical officer, arguing that Adams dismantled the perceived barriers to success by encouraging a mindset free from the constraints of artificial limitations imposed by societal structures.
As I explore Scott’s trajectory, I commend his remarkable dedication and hard work, which forged his path to prominence. Yet, life has offered him heavy challenges, including personal losses and health issues that would test anyone's resilience. I express my admiration for the way he has dealt with these adversities, maintaining respect for the process of life and the unpredictability of our existence.
I reflect on the deeper existential themes that Adams' work has illuminated for me, touching on the fear of mortality and the urgency of living life to the fullest. I convey a pivotal message: that it’s crucial to pursue our passions, confront our fears, and cherish the relationships and opportunities we have today, rather than get caught in the illusion of untimeliness. This perspective is particularly poignant, given the fragility of life and the unknowns of the future.
As our conversation shifts, I emphasize the importance of taking action now rather than deferring plans and dreams, urging listeners to break free from complacency. Life is fleeting, and I call on everyone to seize the day, pursue their aspirations, and face the inherent uncertainties without hesitation.
In conclusion, I reaffirm my gratitude for Scott Adams, not just for the laughter he has provided but for empowering countless individuals to challenge authority and embrace their potential. His ability to provoke thought and promote skepticism of complacency can liberate us from self-imposed ceilings. It’s later than you think; let us act decisively and with intention to make the most of the time we have.
[0:00] Hi everybody, this is Stefan Molyneux from Freedomain, and I just wanted to share some thoughts I just read today.
[0:12] Scott Adams has reported that he has the same kind of cancer, prostate, serious, at least Scott says he's not going to make it, probably past the summer, and it spread to his bones, And I just wanted to, of course, express my deepest condolences to Scott. Actually been quite an important influence in my life. I got into Dilbert when I was a software entrepreneur and dealing with retarded boards and, you know, fairly corrupt salespeople at times. And, you know, the massive gap between marketing and tech, as I was both a chief technical officer and a director of marketing.
[1:05] And his cynicism, his humor, stuff has literally burned into my brain. Bits from the old Dilbert comics. They nestle and breed in my brain. One of Dilbert's presentations, which went wrong, And he said, and in conclusion, I hate you all, which kind of burned itself into my brain. Oh, Wally's, well, why would I wash my towels when I come out of the shower? I'm the cleanest thing in the house. A towel's supposed to bend.
[1:38] Just absolutely hilarious, warm-hearted, brilliant, brilliant stuff. And one of my fun memories with my brother was we were on a business flight and reading Scott Adams, the Dilbert Principle. And just laughing hysterically at what he wrote. He is an absolute genius and brave. There was a CEO who invited him to come in and pretend to be a business consultant. And he got a bunch of executives who agree to a business statement that made absolutely no sense. And Scott Adams put on a wig and a false mustache to make this happen. And that's gumption, man. That's pretty wild. That's commitment.
[2:25] And I did have the good fortune to have a conversation with Scott, I think, twice on this show, which was really an honor, a very deep honor and privilege for me. And...
[2:42] It is the end of an era his insights into politics were always staggering for me i used to listen to the the morning shows that he did quite a bit um when i got out of politics i did not, follow them as much though every time i dipped in he always had something remarkable and brilliant to say.
[3:10] When I was young, I thought of all of the people who were older than me, but not by much. I think he's 67 and I'm 58. And I remember when I was younger, I thought of all the people who were just a little bit older than me and how I would feel when they got sick and died. I remember thinking about Sting for some reason. Sting's in good health. I think his hearing is messed up, as you can imagine, from such an intergalactic rock star. And he put a hearing aid in, and then he said, but I didn't really like hearing what people had to say, so he pulled it out. He does work with the Hearing Association. And I think I just remember thinking, what's it going to be like when the people a little ahead of me start to die?
[3:59] And of course don't you don't we all don't we wonder what what it's going to be like when we get that slow shake of the head from the doctor what's it going to be like, when we get that slow shake of the head from the doctor well doc are there any alternatives are there any treatments what are my options.
[4:29] And scott did try ivermectin he tried some famboozledoozle stuff or whatever it is i don't really remember the name because there was little downside as he points out and you know why not right don't we all wonder how when we know the ending.
[4:51] And its time frame because it's kind of a blur right it's kind of a blur it's kind of a pixelated fog out there yes we could get hit by a bus bus car crossing the street tomorrow or the last time I took a plane it was shaking like crazy and of course you just wonder hey what if the we, what if the wings come off or something like that and I deeply admire Scott's resolution and his a dignity. I mean, demand is in, I assume, considerable, if not downright unbearable pain from he's got arthritis, he's got bad discs in his back, he's got a tumor. And I think they're all kind of concentrated in the same spot. So I've never really had any back pain. But it's really an ugly thing to go through. And it's not even like you're going through it, right? There are certain health conditions, you know, for me, it's like software and hardware issues. So there are certain health conditions that you know i don't know you you get a hernia and and you get it fixed so then you sort of hopefully sort of go back to normal right and then there's other stuff like hearing or whatever that if it if it fries it's pretty tough to get fixed and certain conditions is downright impossible so that's like a hardware issue a software issue you can reinstall the os and back to normal hardware issues are kind of fixed and permanent.
[6:17] And you know Scott's Scott from what I've seen you know has had some significant highs and lows in life which is kind of what happens when you live life in some reasonable way trying to maximize your potential and Scott you know when he was younger he was working at Pacific Bell I think the guy got held up at gunpoint twice in a year or two when he was a bank teller and then obviously wanted to move into management and then hit that white male DEI ceiling and was explicitly told that he couldn't progress because of his race and sex, which is all just appalling stuff. But he would get up at four o'clock in the morning, casting about and working on various business ideas. I mean, Scott, he started doing cartoons at the age of six, like I started writing short stories at the age of six. And he would get up at four in the morning before work and just grind and it paid off for him in terms of you know wealth and fame uh he was the biggest comic strip in the world for a long time and.
[7:19] I mean he had a tv show uh the dilbert stuff was everywhere the merchandise was everywhere he had the dil burritos he had a full food line he was a restaurateur but i think lawsuits if i remember rightly lawsuits put a stop to that i'm sorry if i get anything wrong, and he was married and then his stepson later on got addicted to drugs and died of an overdose i think it was fentanyl i'm just you know highs and lows and highs and lows are the inevitable byproduct of a life lived with focus commitment and intensity.
[7:55] And I've read a number of his books, all wonderfully written, incredibly insightful. You know, he's not a philosopher anymore than I'm a cartoonist, but I don't judge non-philosophers' books by philosophical standards. So, you know, I had a lot of important, powerful stuff to say. Our metaphysics and epistemology would not accord, but humor is such a deep and delightful spice of life.
[8:30] And Scott taught the world not to take itself too seriously. Scott taught the world that competence and management are often complete opposites. It's called the Peter Principle, like you're promoted one level beyond your level of confidence. A competence, sorry. A competence, yeah. And so you know you move up until you're bad at your job and then they don't move you up any further so you move up one one rung past where you're competent and he demystified bosses he empowered those who competently do rather than those who incompetent incompetently waffle and merely talk it's a great gift to the world you know when i was a kid growing up in in england of course you know teachers and bosses and managers i remember the headmaster of my boarding school like gods you couldn't question or evaluate and how dare you and you just got to fall in line and conform and probably march off to some god forsaken rat infested mud soaked trench somewhere in france seemed the end result of that kind of authority worship and scott.
[9:39] Absolutely took an irresistible sledgehammer to the authority of bosses and the authority of experts.
[9:50] And, you know, humor, all the way back, I was in King Lear when I was in a theater school.
[10:01] And I was, as most people who read the play or watch the play or are involved with the play, fascinated by the court jester right the court jester the fool the only one who can tell the truth as the old saying goes you can tell them the truth but you have to make them laugh first otherwise they'll kill you and scott in the most powerful and positive way really one of the biggest influences of of positive subversion i mean there's negative subversion where you know your culture has no history and everything you do is illegitimate and right you're all criminals like that that's really horrible subversion but subversion of the unearned prestige of often accidental authority was something that scott took a acidic flamethrower hatchet to the base of these almost titanic sequoia trees of authority in our society and just hammered them and in a fearless And when I say irresistible, once someone makes you laugh and gives you that dopamine, and I used to, I mean, when I lived in Montreal, I lived in Montreal for four years, two years at theater school and two years at McGill finishing my undergraduate in history. And I would get the newspaper every day and I would read it cover to cover.
[11:23] And I would go first to the Dilbert, always first to the Dilbert. And I bought the books and I just, I was never a fan of the TV show. It was a bit too surreal for me, but it's just a matter of taste. It's not anything here or there.
[11:39] He gave me a genuine, deep and abiding gift, which is skepticism of the org chart, skepticism of, quote, authority. Because, I mean, the way that I grew up, it's like, well, everyone who's in charge must know what they're doing. They must be fantastic at what they're doing. They must have this immense talent and skill and ability. and just seeing that chipped away at it was at least from you know from the british culture that i grew up in i mean it was, it felt almost um not quite criminal, it felt like a misdemeanor at best and it felt like forbidden forbidden knowledge of the skepticism of authority. What's that great Dilbert where he's saying, you know, like a mouse 50-inch CRT monitor, people who don't need people are the happiest people. I mean, just brilliant. I mean.
[12:54] Because the mirror image of Dilbert and the pointy-haired boss, where the pointy-haired boss is skilled with people and incompetent in technology, and Dilbert is competent in technology and unskilled with people. And that's often the shallow, softest versus the semi-autistic technologist is one of these interlocking things in business that there is no particular solution to, but it always seems to be a kind of fascinating coalescence of jigsaw puzzle pieces. And when when when scott moved into politics my god i mean, okay obviously you make a lot of predictions in the world i'm more of a free will guy than than scott adams is, but nonetheless there's so many variables even if there wasn't free will there's way too many variables it's like a rock bouncing down a hill you can't say where it's gonna end up accurately down at the bottom you know it's not gonna end up at the top but where exactly it's gonna land So he made some predictions, most of which were very good.
[13:55] I mean, he got Trump because Scott's a trained hypnotist and really deeply understands the power of persuasion.
[14:09] The persuasion of Dilbert was, it is, the persuasion of Dilbert was bosses are, it's important to be skeptical of bosses, which is a very valid concern. It's important to be skeptical of bosses and it's all important to be skeptical of engineers as well. And... Scott's predictions were so good so often and his way of uh I shouldn't say like it's all past tense he's still going to keep doing his show and I hope that he lasts long past the summer again assuming that the pain level which is considerable for him he says he has no good days and the evenings are even worse which is why he stopped doing his evening shows on his locals channel but his political analysis his analysis of cause and effect his pulling apart of dominoes of why things happen or why they don't happen or ways to reverse looking at cause and effect, was almost second to none almost second to none.
[15:19] And you know also he has muscle issues for decades, I think in the mid-2000s, mid-early 2000s, he had spasmodic dysphonia, is it that, where he had to end up with a surgery to reroute his vocal cord muscles so that he could speak effectively. And I think he was feeling immense amounts of despair at not being able to talk effectively. And I mean, I talk all the time. I can completely understand the horror of not being able to communicate and the feeling of being locked inside a silence.
[15:57] Solitary confinement prison of your own skull flesh it would be pretty pretty appalling so great sympathy but he worked hard and he got the right surgery and his voice completely recovered and i really i really do believe that the bitter acerbic hilarious fool i'm not calling him a fool I'm just saying that the humor in his show is foolish and extreme, but uncovers immense truths. You know, like if you're cleaning a stone and you use very high pressure water, right? I mean, that high pressure water is extreme. It's not rain. It's not a bucket. It's that high pressure and what it uncovers, what it blows away, That high-pressure, acerbic foolishness uncovered so many essential truths for me and liberated me from the automatic programmed, maybe a little bit, I think it's more British than American, this sort of automatic looking at the aristocracy or looking at the sort of the ruling class, the top class. He just blew all of that away.
[17:18] And and and that was really important to me because and i'm trying not to make this about me at all right but i'm just want to say the influence that scott had.
[17:30] Excuse me in my life.
[17:35] Was when i was raised how i was raised was you know there was like the ruling class the smart people the good people the brilliant people the whatever and then there was like the, the soldiers the grunts the privates the, working class, the drones, the soldiers, the factory workers.
[18:02] And there was like a gap, like you can't cross. England's very class-based societies. You can't cross. America's much more tumble dry, but England is. It's not quite a caste system, but it sure is. Hell, isn't the opposite of a caste system. And so by reading Dilbert, you know, I went from a junior programmer to a chief technical officer in a matter of months.
[18:30] And my former mindset sort of pre-Dilbert would have been, I can't do that. I have to go get an MBA. I have to go. And I was actually, I was very successful as a chief technical officer. I interviewed like a thousand people. I hired like 100 people. I managed a lot of people. I wrote software. I did R&D. I traveled to do sales presentations, helped negotiate contracts, and presented to boards. And, you know, I mean, because I was just like, there is no magical barrier between the bottom and the top. There's willpower, dedication, learning, expertise, and commitment. And, you know, obviously some, you know, intelligence barriers. And Scott was important to that for me because he removed from me the ceiling you know the ceiling of like well I mean clearly if I want to go from junior programmer to chief technical officer, it's going to take 10 years at best right as opposed to why can't I do it in a couple of months why should I put an artificial limit on my own capacities prior to the evidence that they're limited right now why why should I assume that and and Dilbert and and Scott Adams was a massive influence on me.
[19:50] Why doesn't Dilbert take the pointy-haired boss's job? Well, because Dilbert is addicted to technology and the same with the pointy-haired boss is addicted to politics and sophistry. But why not?
[20:02] You know, in England, when I grew up, there was no path to the top. I mean, you had to have the right accent, the right context, the right pedigree. You had to have the right schooling, all of these things. And there's this gap, this void between the low and the high. Maybe you could get to the middle class, but you better not go to the high. And the glorious anarchic chaos and skepticism of the top, of the ruling classes, so to speak, that is in Scott Adams, Dilbert's, of course, when it comes to business to a considerable degree, and also in politics and, you know, as we saw in COVID and in the whole healthcare professional class that got so much unbelievably wrong.
[21:02] And the permission to just not believe people is something foundational to Dilbert. And I just, I don't know if you'll ever see this, Scott, but thank you. You really did liberate the sewage grates of arrested potential and give me, just to mix analogies, a giant catapult to what I was willing to accept I was capable of. And it was the same thing, you know, I've been running this, you know, I mean, up until a couple of years ago, by far the world's biggest philosophy show. 10 million downloads a month and it was just it was massive right 100,000 books a month just huge and that's part of like well I don't have a PhD in philosophy from Harvard or Yale or Princeton or Cambridge or the Sorbonne and so on it's like but why would I limit myself, absent evidence right absent evidence you know I remember trying out to be a singer in a garage band and I'm like yeah okay that's maybe not for me I like to sing but I'm not particularly good at it but so absent evidence yeah evidence yes limitations right I've never been able to touch my toes I would never become a palerina or a dancer but I'm willing to accept the evidence of limitation but I'm.
[22:28] Where there is no apparent evidence of limitation, why would I accept it a priority? Why would I say this is my ceiling, this is my top, in the absence of evidence?
[22:41] You can just do things. You can just start a philosophy show. You can just co-found a business and sell to the biggest corporations in the world. You can just travel to Europe and China and America and all over the place. to just sell software. You can just go and give speeches and presentations at conferences. You can just go do things if you're committed and if you're willing to learn and grow. And that's a great gift.
[23:10] And the last thing I want to say, other than great thanks to Scott, for liberating not just mine, but countless people's potential from preconceived limitations and notions and the, I don't know, the prostrate worship of the experts and the bosses of the management classes and the self-perceived gods of the universe who are wizards behind a curtain. I wanted to thank you for that, Scott, really. It's a huge gift. It's a huge gift to have uncorked people's potential by giving them massive skepticism at the efficacy of experts. It's a foundation of science. I think that was Dr. Feynman at the foundation of science is skepticism of expertise. And boy, did you bring that to life in a way that was so engaging and funny.
[24:05] But this is not to do with Scott. I just wanted to thank Scott for that and give my absolutely enormous sympathies for the suffering that you're going through. It's appalling, and I'm so sorry. But the other thing that I wanted to say, because I mean, I'm close to 60. I mean, close to 60. Yes, I exercise. Yes, I keep my weight down. Yes, I eat well, get my sunshine. About my friends. Please absorb, please absorb this act.
[25:05] It's later than you think. It's later than you think. Whatever you're going to do that you want to do, that there's evidence you can do, or at least there's no evidence you can't do it, whatever you're going to do, my friends, please, I'm begging you on my knees, do it. Ask the girl out. Ask the guy out. Start the business. Move, take the trip Learn the skill, It's later than you think And there are enormous numbers of people in the world Who lull you into a strange kind of bewildered timelessness.
[25:58] Just timelessness And this is particularly true for men we don't have the metronome of menstruation and we don't have the, you know, additional signs of aging. We are kind of like bricks from 20 to 60 and then maybe we fall apart. I don't know. We'll see. But it is later than you think in life. Now, I used to think middle age was like 50. No, no, no. Middle age is like 37 in terms of your productive years, right? A lot of people retire in their 60s, right? Not me, but a lot of people do. But it's later than you think. And I think I've always felt a sense of urgency and of time passing. It's later than you think.
[26:51] We don't live life from the deathbed back. We live it from youth onwards.
[27:02] And I remember the first video I ever did was called Live Like You're Dying. I'll put a link to it below. And in that video, I said, well, imagine that you're on your deathbed and you could go back to where you are with the health you have and the youth you have and the vitality that you have, which I hope you have. Or at least it's correctable. But what would you not give for that? Or the old question, like if somebody were to offer you $100 million, you'd say, wow, that's great. And then you'd say, yes, but you don't get to live tomorrow. Okay, so living tomorrow, you wouldn't want it, right? So living tomorrow is worth more than $100 million.
[27:38] If you need to lose the weight, just lose the fucking weight. If you want to get married, make that your sole goal. ask and do what is necessary to get married. If you want to have kids, don't wait. Do it now. It's later than you think. It's later than you think. It's later than you think. Because we live life looking backwards for the most part. And the big wrench in perspective is to live life from your deathbed back. What will make me happy on my deathbed? If I got the news that Scott Adams got some months ago, if I got the news that I had a few months to live, what would be my biggest regrets? I mean, I talked about very, very controversial issues on my show, which got me canceled to hell and gone. I have no regrets.
[28:44] Because if I had not talked about those essential controversial issues and things had just gotten worse and worse and worse I would look back and say what would have happened if I did and that would be that would gnaw that would give me regret.
[29:00] And you can't influence the future for the better without being cursed in the present by the worst among us, if you imagine that you got right the silent head shake of the doctor doc what can i do what am i what are my options.
[29:29] You have to get your affairs in order and you have to make peace with your ending okay imagine you get that news tomorrow, What is left undone? I guarantee you it's not being a completionist in Diablo or Elden Ring. When you face the end, all of your former fears evaporate and just leave you with the hardscrabble, bitter sand of regret. Oh, if I'm going to die, why didn't I ask that girl out? Oh my God. If I'm gonna die, what was I so scared of? I know you are gonna die, you are. And you'd never know when. You don't know. And all of your fears will die with you. So don't let them dominate you now. It's later than you think. Get your ass busy.
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