# Issue with the use of Position

Reading the documentation of Position, I found there's a possible issue:
Position looks for matches based on patterns, which may not be the same as numerical equality:

Position[Range[-1, 1, 0.05], 0.1]

{}


Then a possible way to fix this is left

Position[Range[-1, 1, 0.05], n_ /; n == 0.1]

{{23}}


My question: Is there a way to fix this issue when you have a list of lists? Because I tried something like the above and it didn't work.

• Let me know if I didn't explain it well. Aug 11 '18 at 5:11
• You should give an example of "I tried something like the above and it didn't work" because it should work, e.g. Position[{{1., 2., 3.}, {4., 5., 6.}}, n_ /; n == 5] Aug 11 '18 at 5:37

## 2 Answers

If you want equality, use rational numbers rather than floating point:

Position[Range[-1, 1, 1/20], 1/10]
{{23}}


You can use

Nearest[Range[-1, 1, 0.05] -> "Index", 0.1]


{23}

Alternatively,

Position[Chop[Range[-1, 1, 0.05] - .1], 0] (* or *)
Position[Round[Range[-1, 1, 0.05], .05], 0.1]


{{23}}

If you check the FullForm of Range[-1, 1, 0.05] you see that it doesn't contain 0.1:

Range[-1, 1, 0.05] // FullForm


• Might I ask why the heck it doesn't contain 0.1? It would seem logical that it should.
– Emy
Aug 13 '18 at 6:57
• @Emy, not sure exactly why.
– kglr
Aug 14 '18 at 2:47