“One study suggested that in the ancient Middle East, anywhere from ten to forty percent of any given retelling of sacred tradition could vary from one occasion to the next. However, there were always fixed points that were unalterable, and the community had the right to intervene and correct the storyteller if he erred on those important aspects of the story. “It’s an interesting”—he paused, searching his mind for the right word—“coincidence that ten to forty percent is pretty consistently the
