In [3]: import numpy as np In [4]: a = np.array([1,2]) In [5]: b = np.asarray(a) In [6]: b2 = np.array(a) In [7]: b Out[7]: array([1, 2]) In [8]: b2 Out[8]: array([1, 2]) In [9]: b2[0] = 7 In [10]: b2 Out[10]: array([7, 2]) In [11]: a Out[11]: array([1, 2]) In [12]: b[0] = 5 In [13]: b Out[13]: array([5, 2]) In [14]: a Out[14]: array([5, 2])