TL;DR
Getting the last laugh is (I believed) a common English idiom. It has nothing to do with belly laughs and little to do with jokes, hence what I felt was a cleverly constructed Tweet. Let me explain; to me it means despite early ridicule a person goes on to achieve more than those who mocked. Usage might be something like this -They mocked him at school for his shyness with girls but got the last laugh when he married the prettiest woman in the lab, followed by a Nobel prize!
Clearly achieving greatness and then being mocked is not getting the last laugh.
Long version for those with interest in who Professor Tim Hunt is, sock puppets and more
Right now, Tuesday evening, the number of retweets and favourites for Dawkins response stands at 53 retweets and 239 favourites. Follow the link to check for any updates, and maybe check out who all these Dawkins fans are.https://twitter.com/RichardDawkins/status/638109171129425921
Odd eh? So what's going on? I'll fill in more as time permits but thought I'd better jot down some notes while I have time. I did find this rather interesting, and probably relevant blog post that seems to relate, and well worth reading.
The Value of 3 Degrees of Separation on Twitter by Hilda Bastian.
Distinguished Me
As for Dawkins's question, I assumed it was rhetorical, since If I was properly distinguished he'd already know who I was, and perhaps even leap to my defence - after all I'm a 50 year old white Englishman and lifelong atheist. Well except as a young child, since my parents had the sense to protect me from indoctrination. However I did go to school, so have a reasonable, if imperfect, command of my native language. Which, IMHO, is the significant matter here. What??? you screech in a determined effort to be offended by my lack of regard for a Nobel laureate. Well take a look at this -
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11732143/Sir-Tim-Hunt-deserved-to-lose-his-job-over-chauvinist-comments-Nobel-Prize-winner-says.html
And if you favour the spoken word there's this -
BBC Radio 4 Today Programme - Tim Hunt
Though not distinguished I am from time to time available for a chat. So if you'd like to meet and discuss any of the things I do have real knowledge of, and Tim Hunt isn't one, I'll be in London a couple of times in coming weeks.
Digital Design Weekend at the V&A 26 and 27 September.
and
Mozilla Festival 7 and 8 November.
I'll make no claim that meeting me would justify the ticket price, but fortunately it's an absolute bargain anyway if you have even a passing interest in technology, the web, and our freedom to express ourselves online.
Final word
@TonyJHopkinson it is one thing to disagree with him and say why. That would be fine. Calling him an idiot is another matter.
— Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins) August 30, 2015
Afterword (10 Nov 2015)
The campaign to exonerate Tim Hunt for his sexist remarks in Seoul is built on myths, misinformation, and spin.
