ties

Parity is a concept of equality of status or functional equivalence. It has several different specific definitions.

• parity (physics): In physics parity is the name of the symmetry of interactions under spatial inversion.
• parity (mathematics): In mathematics, parity indicates whether a number is even or odd.
• parity (telecommunication): In this usage, the number of '1' bits in a binary value is counted. Parity is even if there are an even number of '1' bits, and odd otherwise.
• parity (medicine) refers to the number of times a woman has given birth.
• In computing, a parity bit is a very simple example of an error detecting code.
• In economics, purchasing power parity (PPP) is an estimate of the exchange rate required to equalise the purchasing power of different currencies, given the prices of goods and services in the countries concerned.
• in economic history, parity was the ratio of farm income to farm expenditure with 1910-1914 as a base. Farm interests from 1920s to 1960s wanted federal programs to raise their income to parity.
• In finance, interest rate parity refers to the notion that the differential in interest rates between two countries is equal to the differential between the forward exchange rate and the spot exchange rate.
• In financial mathematics, put-call parity defines a relationship between the price of a European call option and a European put option - both with the identical strike price and expiry.
• In sports, parity refers to engineering an equal playing field in which all teams can compete, regardless of their economic circumstances.
• In demography, parity means the number of reproductive events (births).
• Potty parity attempts to equalize the waiting times of males and females in restroom queues by designating or building more women's restrooms, giving them more facilities to use.
• Parity is a tactic in othello.

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rare (adj.1)

"unusual," c.1420, originally "few in number and widely separated," from O.Fr. rere "sparse" (14c.), from L. rarus "thinly sown, having a loose texture," from PIE *er-, *ere- "to loose, split, separate" (cf. Skt. rte "besides, except," viralah "distant, tight, rare;" O.C.S. oriti "to dissolve, destroy;" Lith. irti "to dissolve;" O.C.S. rediku "rare;" Gk. eremos "solitary"). "Few in number," hence, "unusual" (1542). Rarity is attested from 1560, from M.Fr. rarité (16c.), from L. raritas "thinness, fewness," from rarus. In chemistry, rare earth is from 1875.

curio
noun

curios
1. An article valued for its rarity or unusualness.

Thesaurus: antique, curiosity, knick-knack, trinket, bibelot.

Etymology: 19c: shortened from curiosity.

curious
adj

1. Strange; odd.

Thesaurus: unusual, strange, odd, rare, exotic, queer, peculiar, remarkable, notable, extraordinary, signal, unique, novel.
2. Eager or interested.

Thesaurus: inquisitive, interested, inquiring, playful, questioning; Antonym: indifferent, apathetic.

Derivative: curiously
adverb
Etymology: 14c: from Latin curiosus full of care.

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i've been thinking this morning about my needs and wants. i know that i deeply love familiarity in every sense of the word. it seems preciously rare to me. so deep is my desire for established intimacy and considerable acquaintance that it leads me to wonder which will sustain me more: familiarity or sustainability. such a question only makes any bit of sense at the beginning of things. do i gravitate more toward strangers that offer a sense of the familiar or a sense of the sustainable. having made some familiars and finding that often so hard to sustain, i think i am quite smitten by the people that suggest sustainability. and well, i see what i have just said "which will *sustain* me more: familiarity or sustainability". answers to ones own questions can be so unsurprising. i'd like to sustain relations with people that allow me to ask a lot of questions.