Python: numpy.var yields unknown number

Question

numpy.var yields this number: 6.0037250324777306e-28.

I suppose by looking at the data that this number is close to 0. Am I correct? If so, how could I interpret this number?

I suggest you read en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_notation; this isn't really a programming question, but that number is 0.000000000000000000000000000600 in a format you may be more familiar with. — jonrsharpe
– jonrsharpe, Commented Aug 20, 2015 at 11:24

Mathias711 · Accepted Answer · 2015-08-20 11:30:58Z

2

It is indeed a number very very close to 0. For example:

import numpy as np
list_to_check_var = [2,2,2,2,2.00000000001]
np.var(list_to_check_var)

yields

1.6000002679246418e-23

As you intuitively know, the variance of the list is very small. The e-23 part at the end means you need to multiply the number with 10^-23.

answered Aug 20, 2015 at 11:30

Mathias711

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