> Every memory begins with tiny changes inside the brain

Maybe. But the brain is not the only place where memory is stored. Flat worms remember things (and skills!) after their head has been cut off and they regrew it:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/these-decapita...

Great result on the biochemistry of memory storage. Then they venture into philosophy: "They still struggle to explain the spark that transforms information into insight."

Go watch Stable Diffusion iteratively transform noise into originality.