Falsehood has an infinity of combinations, but truth has only one mode of being.

Lies tend to multiply and grow complicated, each one needing others to prop it up, while what actually happened stays what it was. Wrong answers can be arranged in endless ways; the real one does not change because it is told differently. Memory is imperfect, though, and an honest account can wobble in its details, so a story that shifts is not proof of a lie.

When you are trying to find out what happened, look for what holds steady underneath the details rather than holding each change against the person telling it. And if you have been shading the truth yourself, notice how much effort it takes to keep the versions straight. The single honest version is easier to carry.