>>> alist=[1,2,3]
>>>alist
[1, 2, 3]
>>> alist*3
[1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3]
>>> [alist]
[[1, 2, 3]]
>>> [alist]*3
[[1, 2, 3], [1, 2, 3], [1, 2, 3]]
>>> alist=[1,2,3]
>>>alist
[1, 2, 3]
>>> alist*3
[1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3]
>>> [alist]
[[1, 2, 3]]
>>> [alist]*3
[[1, 2, 3], [1, 2, 3], [1, 2, 3]]