#2 Threads Between Things

🐾 The Curious Beginning

I didn’t plan to become a freelancer.

Back in university, I just wanted to explore different areas of marketing. My main focus as a marketer was the tech industry, but I was curious. I wanted to learn about other industries, see how small businesses grow, and understand how different people approach creativity.

So I started saying yes. To small projects, to local businesses, to people doing meaningful things on a smaller scale. Fast forward a few years, and that curiosity turned into something real: freelancing became my main line of work. And with it, a deeper desire to keep learning, questioning, and growing.

And that’s why this newsletter exists.

You’ve probably heard the saying "Curiosity killed the cat" - a warning to stay in your comfort zone, avoid asking too many questions, and play it safe. But did you know the full saying actually continues with "but satisfaction brought it back"?

I’d say this changes everything. Curiosity isn’t about recklessness, but about the drive to explore, learn, and grow. And that’s exactly what we’re here for.

Think about every great discovery, invention, or creative breakthrough - none of them happened by accident. They started with a question, an itch to explore, a willingness to step into the unknown.

This newsletter is here to prove that curiosity isn’t dangerous. It’s essential. That’s why, every week, you'll find recommendations, ideas, and actions to fuel your curiosity and expand your world.

Let’s keep our curiosity alive together!

📖 3 Things to Read

1. What’s so scary about the unknown?  - Explores how our inherent fear of uncertainty can immobilize us, yet embracing exploration and curiosity can lead to personal growth and transformation.

2. Why Your ‘Harmonious’ Team Is Actually Failing - When teams avoid conflict to stay "harmonious," they often miss out on real growth and innovation.

3. 38 Colorful Birds You Didn’t Know Exist - Isn’t nature amazing? Just look at these brilliantly colored birds from around the world.

🗞️ 3 Headlines Worth Exploring

1. Super sniffers: how dogs could help detect dangerous bacteria in cystic fibrosis patients  - ​Researchers at Imperial College London are training dogs to detect harmful bacteria in cystic fibrosis patients, offering a non-invasive method to identify infections and combat antibiotic resistance. 

2. Here are Africa’s biggest startups based on valuation - Africa’s biggest startups are reshaping the tech landscape, with several reaching billion-dollar valuations across fintech, payments, and talent platforms.

3. Bearing nature’s beauty and fragility - ​The image of a polar bear resting amid vibrant fireweed blooms has won the latest Nature Photography Contest.

☀️ 3 Ways to Shake Up Your Routine

1. Visit a museum alone. Observe, reflect, and take notes on what intrigues you most.

2. Start small: switch something in your routine. Tiny changes, big impact -like these:

   1. Take a new route to your grocery store, even if it increases the time you spend on your way by 3-4 minutes. 

   2. Try journaling at night instead of in the morning (or vice versa).

   3. Change the place where you usually work from, even for a couple of hours (if you have a dedicated space, try working from the kitchen or go to a cafe).

3. Experiment with a New Tool. Here are a couple of ideas: 

   1. Oblique Strategies - A card-based method for promoting creativity (each card contains a phrase or cryptic remark).

   2. 100.000 Stars - An interactive, zoomable visualization of our galaxy that puts our existence into perspective.

   3. Neal.fun - A playground of interactive web experiments like The Deep Sea, Draw Logos from Memory, or The Size of Space.

⚡ 6 Quick Sparks

🎥 To watch: This TED Talk on how to let curiosity lead you.

🎧 To listen: This breakdown of the most iconic electronic music sample of every year (1990-2024).

📖 To read: This article on Art Movements’ Timeline.

🛠️ To try: Google Arts & Culture's "One Minute Guides" (personalized short introductions to popular art movements).

📚 To learn: About every tool used by a sommelier.

🎨 To plan: Your trip around Europe considering these 5 scenic train routes.

🎲 This week’s wonderfully random corner of the internet 

🗂️ Internet Artifacts by Neal.fun
Ever feel nostalgic for the early internet? This little time capsule is filled with digital relics - from floppy disks to pixelated desktop widgets. It’s part museum, part rabbit hole, and 100% a curiosity snack.

🌀 Click, scroll, and let your inner internet archaeologist roam free.

📝 Word of the Week

Apophenia (noun) - The tendency to perceive meaningful connections between unrelated things.

It’s the spark behind pattern recognition, conspiracy theories, creativity, and even the way we make sense of our lives. Sometimes useful, sometimes misleading - always human.

🧘‍♀️ Question of the Week for Introspection

Where in my life am I drawing connections that might not actually exist?

Are they helping me understand myself better, or keeping me stuck in a story?

See you next Sunday! Until then, keep your eyes open, your questions big, and your sense of wonder alive.

Your curious internet friend,

Ruxandra

P.S.: Got another curious soul in your life? Feel free to spread the word! Anyone can subscribe using the button below: