This post should be titled “Error correcting codes are cool”, as it contains zero bits of information that’s specific to Reed-Solomon codes.

If you’re interested in Reed-Solomon codes (and other error correcting codes), I recommend reading Huffman’s (NB: not the same Huffman as in Huffman codes!) textbook on the subject:

Fundamentals of Error Correcting Codes

https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Error-Correcting-Codes-C...