A friend of mine from South Carolina told me about a situation in which difference in culture had a disastrous effect. My friend and the very cultured (Boston style) son of a Harvard professor were trying to get a patent on a medical laboratory device. In explaining it to a Virginian patent attorney, when the attorney failed to understand a point, the Northener in a way that would be perfectly accepted at Harvard interrupted the Virginian to save time. Without any change in expression or tone, the Virginian froze, and no further discussion was possible. The South Carolinian had to explain later to the Bostonian what had gone wrong.