title: Python error: could not convert string to float
body: <p>I have some Python code that pulls strings out of a text file:</p>
  
  <pre><code>[2.467188005806714e-05, 0.18664554919828535, 0.5026880460053854, ....]
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Python code:</p>
  
  <pre><code>v = string[string.index('['):].split(',')
  for elem in v:
      new_list.append(float(elem))
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>This gives an error:</p>
  
  <pre><code>ValueError: could not convert string to float: [2.974717463860223e-06
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Why can't <code>[2.974717463860223e-06</code> be converted to a float?</p>