What are the parentheses for at the end of Python method names?

Question

I\'m a beginner to Python and programming in general. Right now, I\'m having trouble understanding the function of empty parentheses at the end of method names, built-in or

Answer 1

upper() is a command asking the upper method to run, while upper is a reference to the method itself. For example,

upper2 = 'Michael'.upper
upper2() # does the same thing as 'Michael'.upper() !