The greatest misconception in cognitive science is the metaphor of memory as storage. We do not 'store' events; we generate them. Recall is not a lookup operation; it is an act of momentary reconstruction, an inference based on the present state.
This 'Generative Memory' thesis posits that the brain retains only the most essential patterns and semantic anchors of an experience. When we 'remember,' the mind uses these anchors to re-synthesize the event, filling in the gaps with a lifetime of context. This is why the same memory feels different at different stages of life. We are not accessing an old file; we are generating a new experience, colored by the person we are today. This is the core of a truly intelligent, adaptive system.