This site is for the Mark & Naomi Iliff family. For Mark’s work persona go to Talespinner
Iliff-King phrasebook
definition
<parroty error expression or saying
When your parrot says “pieces of seven”
Origin
Computer nerd riff on parity error
Collector
M & N – 1980s
Mark & Naomi
Notes
It’s an error detection measure. Of the 8 bits¹ in a byte, 7 carry information whilst the only role of the 8ᵗʰ is to make the total number of 1s in the byte even². The integrity of the byte can then be checked by counting the 1s.
Meanwhile, parrots are reputed to be fond of saying “pieces of eight”.
¹binary digits, 0s or 1s
²or odd, according to system
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