Scott Adams

Quotes are word for word from the source.

• Expect irrational behavior

  “It's useless to expect rational behavior from the people you work with, or anybody else for that matter.”

  Our noteDiscussing the reality of workplace dynamics and human nature.

• Creativity and art

  “I have a saying: "Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.”

  Our noteDefining the difference between generating ideas and refining them.

• Irrational human pursuits

  “Nothing defines humans better than their willingness to do irrational things in the pursuit of phenomenally unlikely payoffs.”

  Our noteAnalyzing why people participate in lotteries and other low-probability ventures.

• Directing focus in persuasion

  “Master Persuaders move your energy to the topics that help them, independent of facts and reason.”

  Our noteAdams describes how skilled persuaders control the narrative by shifting focus.

• Leveraging chaos for advantage

  “A skilled persuader who understands both social media and the news business can easily stir the pot to create an advantage through chaos.”

  Our noteAdams explains how media savvy can be used to manipulate public perception.

• Skepticism of complex models

  “If an economist uses a complicated model to predict just about anything, you can ignore it.”

  Our noteAdams shares his skepticism regarding economic forecasting and complex predictions.

• Challenging core beliefs

  “the best way to solve a problem is to identify the core belief that causes the problem; then mock that belief until the people who hold it insist that you heard them wrong.”

  Our noteAdams suggests a provocative method for changing minds and solving problems.

• Nature of politics

  “Political differences are mostly a matter of what frightens you the most, with a thin frosting of rationalization on top.”

  Our noteAnalyzing why people hold different political viewpoints.

• Consequences of speech

  “Most of my income will be gone by next week [...] My reputation for the rest of my life is destroyed.”

  Our noteReacting to the cancellation of his comic strip after controversial remarks.

• Incentivized perception

  “If your job is to look for that stuff, any offense, well you're gonna find it because that's your job.”

  Our noteTalking about how corporate departments are incentivized to find problems.