Reality can get weird fast when your brain is wired differently. In Part 2 of Reality Perception Distortion, Nithin Cherian and Malcolm Moore riff on what happens when perception becomes your operating system—especially if you can’t “see” images in your mind the way other people can.

They use AI as the flashlight: not as magic, but as rapid prototyping for ideas, worlds, and next steps. Along the way, they spiral into a monkey/banana/grape “reality distortion” bit, the anxiety of walled gardens (Apple vs Android energy… but for AI), and the uncomfortable truth that sometimes the “food just appears” because we’ve been trained to expect it.

It’s playful, philosophical, and practical—ending with the cleanest metaphor button: Pavlov’s dog vs Schrödinger’s cat. (And yes, you’ll probably laugh while questioning your own defaults.)

Referenced in This Episode (go deeper)

Aphantasia, Classical Conditioning, Schrödinger’s Cat, Sphere (Las Vegas)

Core Ideas - Perception isn’t just a lens—it becomes the whole room if you’re not careful. - AI can function like “rapid prototyping” for thought (especially for non-visual thinkers). - Platforms won’t magically unify—interoperability is a choice, not a guarantee. - Conditioning is real: sometimes we don’t notice what trained us until we miss the reward.

Please visit-
www.playthespaces.com

*Theme music composition and performance by Malcolm Moore.
**Photo manipulation by Caleb Moore.

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Malcolm's Other Podcast: Creativity Is The Cure

Malcolm & Nithin

Listen to our podcast on these platforms and many others:

Apple

Spotify

YouTube

In this episode of Play The Spaces, we trace the winding path from chaotic 90's music stores to the strange calm of reinvention in the AI era. What starts with “sup-dawg” greetings, misnamed gear like the legendary “Krog Sympathizer,” and House of Guitars mythologies becomes a deeper conversation about how the stories we grew up in shape the way we create, work, and see ourselves now. We swap tales about Junkie XL resurrecting an ’80s studio rig, dial-up pages loading slower than human evolution, and the moment AI stopped being a sci-fi punchline and became a practical creative partner. But the heart of the episode comes when Malcolm opens up about losing a 12-year teaching career and facing a future he literally cannot visualize. As an auditory thinker who feels creativity rather than sees it, he asks whether AI can help someone imagine the next chapter when their mind offers no pictures at all. What follows is an honest, funny, and surprisingly grounding breakdown of how technology can amplify the parts of us we struggle to access, why nostalgia messes with memory, and how confronting the truth about who we were opens the doorway to who we’re becoming. Vibrating beds, AI and reality...Oh my!

Referenced in This Episode-
House of Guitars Tony Levin Junkie XL Deadmau5 ASR-10 SP-1200 MPC 2000

Books & Thinkers-
Andy Warhol David Bowie Beethoven

Some Key Women in AI-
Barbara J. Grosz Fei‑Fei Li
Niki Parmar: Her work along with her collaborators (Vaswani, Shazeer, Parmar, Uszkoreit, Jones, Gomez, Kaiser, and Polosukhin) birthed modern AI.

Concepts
Analog chaos vs digital order
AI hallucination turned creative amplifier
Auditory learning vs visualization
Creative reinvention after job loss

Core Ideas
Nostalgia is a lens, not a destination.
Technology doesn’t erase creativity; it expands it.
Reinvention begins where certainty ends.
We all live different versions of the same story.

Please visit-
www.playthespaces.com

*Theme music composition and performance by Malcolm Moore.
**Photo manipulation by Caleb Moore.

Follow us on:

Instagram: playthespacespodcast

Malcolm's Other Podcast: Creativity Is The Cure

Malcolm & Nithin

Listen to our podcast on these platforms and many others:

Apple

Spotify

YouTube

In this second part of Play The Spaces Shifting Sense of Self series, hosts Malcolm Moore and Nithin Cherian unpack what it means to outgrow the version of yourself that once felt safe.

From losing a job to redefining purpose, they trace the messy beauty of metamorphosis—how fear, failure, and reflection combine to re-train the brain’s “Tenacity Hub.” Through stories, humor, and science-meets-spirit insights, they explore why micro-dosing failure, journaling the hard stuff, and letting go of external validation can open the door to genuine creative freedom.

Listeners walk away with a toolkit for facing uncertainty, practicing persistence, and finding growth inside discomfort.

Please visit-
www.playthespaces.com

Please visit-
www.playthespaces.com

*Theme music composition and performance by Malcolm Moore.
**Photo manipulation by Caleb Moore.

Follow us on:

Instagram: playthespacespodcast

Malcolm's Other Podcast: Creativity Is The Cure

Malcolm & Nithin

Listen to our podcast on these platforms and many others:

Apple

Spotify

YouTube

Ever feel like your voice sounds nothing like you imagined?

In this episode of Play The Spaces, Malcolm Moore and Nithin Cherian dive into the shifting sense of self we all experience. From bass grooves and “playing the spaces” to cocoon-to-butterfly transformations, this conversation explores how identity evolves, how others perceive us, and how embracing imperfections can unlock growth. The magic comes in the spaces between the notes.

Transformation isn’t about losing yourself — it’s about finding your core essence.

Please visit-
www.playthespaces.com

Please visit-
www.playthespaces.com

*Theme music composition and performance by Malcolm Moore.
**Photo manipulation by Caleb Moore.

Follow us on:

Instagram: playthespacespodcast

Malcolm's Other Podcast: Creativity Is The Cure

Malcolm & Nithin

Listen to our podcast on these platforms and many others:

Apple

Spotify

YouTube

In Part 2, Nithin Cherian and Malcolm Moore continue exploring “Action with Purpose,” using the Mind Vehicle framework to help listeners navigate growth, transition, and intention. This premiere episode dives into how purpose, timing, and perspective shape creative and personal evolution.

References

Star Wars (George Lucas) - “Star Wars psychology” and imagining a therapist-style character. The Boys - A darker tone they’re not going for. Stranger Things - Community and friendship before smartphones. The Emperor’s New Groove - Kronk’s angel/devil voices and “squirrel talk” as a metaphor for hidden gifts. Poltergeist - “Go into the light”: letting the old version of yourself move on. Weird Science - A playful ritual for saying goodbye to a past identity.

Books & Thinkers

The Body Keeps the Score - Bessel van der Kolk How trauma lives in the body and can be released through awareness and movement. Joe Dispenza - On rewiring thought patterns and mindset. Stuart Smalley (SNL) - A humorous nod to “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough” affirmations. Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman) - Creative brilliance and the challenge of balance.

Concepts

Ouroboros - The snake eating its own tail; being stuck in a self-consuming loop. New Orleans/Jazz ,Viking Funeral - Letting go of an old identity anc celebrating rebirth. Free Jazz & Math Rock -The tension between improvisation and structure; planning with intention.

Core Ideas

• Stress can manifest physically (“redlining the engine”).
• Grieve and celebrate the version of you that’s gone.
• Asking “Why am I?” beats harsh self-talk.
• Test new versions of your next chapter.
• “Play the Spaces”: rest, timing, and silence are part of the music of life.

Please visit-
www.playthespaces.com

*Theme music composition and performance by Malcolm Moore.
**Photo manipulation by Caleb Moore.

Follow us on:

Instagram: playthespacespodcast

Malcolm's Other Podcast: Creativity Is The Cure

Malcolm & Nithin

Listen to our podcast on these platforms and many others:

Apple

Spotify

YouTube

Nithin Cherian and Malcolm Moore utilize the Mind Vehicle to help guests attain personal growth. In this premiere episode, Nithin and Malcolm set the stage for exploring action with purpose.

Please visit-
www.playthespaces.com

*Theme music composition and performance by Malcolm Moore.
**Photo manipulation by Caleb Moore.

Please visit-
www.playthespaces.com

*Theme music composition and performance by Malcolm Moore.
**Photo manipulation by Caleb Moore.

Follow us on:

Instagram: playthespacespodcast

Malcolm's Other Podcast: Creativity Is The Cure

Malcolm & Nithin

Listen to our podcast on these platforms and many others:

Apple

Spotify

YouTube