Note on The Dilbert Afterlife via Scott Alexander

Adams knew, deep in his bones, that he was cleverer than other people. God always punishes this impulse, especially in nerds. His usual strategy is straightforward enough: let them reach the advanced physics classes, where there will always be someone smarter than them, then beat them on the head with their own intellectual inferiority so many times that they cry uncle and admit they’re nothing special.

For Adams, God took a more creative and – dare I say, crueler – route. He created him only-slightly-above-average at everything except for a world-historical, Mozart-tier, absolutely Leonardo-level skill at making silly comics about hating work.

FROM:

Scott Alexander

The Dilbert Afterlife

Source

This is a fantastic eulogy. Cutting, but true and heartfelt.

I, too, was an avid reader of Dilbert when I was in elementary school and so was inoculated against corporate interests and management interests early on. That was incredibly valuable and I remember every session of reading them fondly.