Hey Reader,

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Our newsletter is back after a short break!

Here's a quick roundup of recent updates and the latest content from Curious Muse:

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🙅‍♂️ The hard truth about soft skills

💡 Curious Bites:

• 🏛 How Nose plugs were used to prevent kidnapping?😱
• 💄Why were ancient Egyptians obsessed with makeup?
• 😁 What’s the weirdest thing you’ve heard about people doing to attract a partner?
• 📺 The exact moment TV stations switched to color television

​✍️ Quote of the week

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Let's dive into it!

🙅‍♂️ The hard truth about soft skills

We often categorize skills into two main types: hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are the technical abilities like using Excel or programming in various languages. Soft skills, on the other hand, include things like communication, giving feedback, time management, creativity, and collaboration.

But why do we call them "soft" skills? The term seems to downplay their importance.

Think about the last time you tried to improve your time management or improve your ways of working with colleagues. Was it easy? Probably not. If you’ve mastered these effortlessly, please share your secret!

Interestingly, we have the U.S. Army to thank for the term "soft skills." Back in the 1960s, they labeled any skill unrelated to machinery as "soft." It wasn't because they thought these skills were easier to acquire, but simply because they weren’t mechanical. Thus, "soft" became the unfortunate branding for these crucial skills.

If you need to convince yourself—or someone else—that soft skills are actually quite challenging to develop, consider this:

While there’s a standard way to use Excel, everyone has their own unique approach to communication, collaboration, giving feedback, and creativity. Soft skills are deeply personal, shaped by our upbringing, the behaviors we observe, and our individual identities.

Acquiring soft skills is closely tied to behavior change, and behavior change is tough. Let’s be honest about that. Despite what social media might suggest, building healthy habits and new behaviors is anything but easy.

Moreover, behavioral science is still evolving. Since it involves the brain—the most complex organ we have—there's always new research emerging. So, can we say we fully understand how to develop soft skills? Not entirely.

This might apply to all skills, but from my experience (and this is purely anecdotal), developing soft skills requires a significant amount of grit, discipline, focus, desire, and good mental and physical health.

Even the well-known American entrepreneur and PayPal co-founder recently said in an interview that the AI revolution might reduce the importance of Math skills and increase opportunities for people with strong Word abilities.

So, here's to all the Word people out there! Let's recognize soft skills for what they truly are: the POWER SKILLS of the future! 💪

💡 Curious Bites

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​😱 These women wear nose plugs to make themselves less attractive to kidnappers!​

Meet the Apatani tribe of Arunachal Pradesh, India, where women traditionally wear large nose plugs made from wood or bamboo. Unlike Western beauty norms where people modify their appearance to enhance attractiveness, Apatani women wear these nose plugs with the intention of making themselves less appealing.

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​💄 Why were ancient Egyptians obsessed with makeup?​

Kohl was one of the most iconic forms of makeup used by both men and women in ancient Egypt. It was essentially associated with the god Horus, who was depicted with distinctive eye makeup. By wearing kohl, Egyptians believed they could invoke the protective powers of Horus and ward off evil spirits.

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❤️ What could you do to make someone fall in love with you?​

During the Renaissance period, love potions were believed to have magical powers when it comes to love and romantic relations. People made these potions from natural things like herbs, flowers, and spices, and sometimes even unusual items like animal parts which could include the snake venom and metals like gold and silver. Even the herbs like rosemary and lavender, and spices like cinnamon, were added because they were believed to make someone feel more attracted to another person.

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📺 The exact moment TV stations switched to color television [MUST WATCH]​

Watch the historic moment when TV stations across the world transitioned to color television—an unforgettable shift in broadcasting!

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✍️ Quote of the week

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Stay curious! 💙

Artem xx

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