Years ago, I heard a story about a woman in a university seminar who would start or end any contribution to the discussion with a “Sorry”. It was a “sorry” of the excuse-me kind, like when you brush someone with your bag while boarding a bus: saying, “I didn’t mean to, and I regret my intrusion”. One day, the professor, fed up, commanded her to “Stop apologising!” Automatically the woman replied, “I’m sorry”, froze, and put her head down on her desk. This apology was differen