[pessimizer]

> That punchline is based on inversion of expectations, not self-deprecation.

The expectation is that Jimmy Carr is of normal intelligence and awareness. The joke that he is making is that he is not.

I don't buy the monkey story because laughing isn't generally defensive. If somebody attacks you and you laugh, they will attack you harder. To defend yourself with laughter, you point at a third-party and laugh, so maybe they'll think the third party is weaker than you.

[bluefirebrand]

> The expectation is that Jimmy Carr is of normal intelligence and awareness. The joke that he is making is that he is not.

I'm pretty sure the joke is that you aren't going to get much done in "a moment" of Cancer Research.

Not that he's too stupid to do the research. He could be the world's foremost expert on Cancer Research and the joke is still funny.

[ineptech]

You've misunderstood the monkey story. Laughter isn't the defense mechanism, it's the thing that interrupts the defense mechanism. The involuntary grin response doesn't happen when someone punches you, it happens when you feel attacked but also feel as if you can't react aggressively because of the social situation you're in.

Dissecting jokes is tedious and subjective but the sheer number of people disagreeing with you is telling. Jimmy Carr does a fair bit of self-deprecating humor but this one is pure "punchline subverts the expectation of the setup". It feels like you're working really hard to force this "woke=weak" thing in to a place where it doesn't remotely fit.

edit to add: and in cases where humor is aggressive or dismissive (e.g. jokes about gays, Polish people, blondes, etc) I think you'll find that "ingroup vs. outgroup" is a much better model than "predator vs. prey".