For most people and most purposes, the Anaconda Python Distribution is preferred. The most recent Anaconda distribution has over 250 of the most widely used data science packages (and their dependencies) pre-installed. Earlier versions of Anaconda python have an extensive collection of pre-installed packages as well. With this in mind, you may prefer to use one of the Anaconda modules since you will have to install fewer python packages. To load one of the anaconda modules, enter the following command specifying the module name and, optionally, the specific version that you want:
$ module load python3.8-anaconda/2020.07
End of support for version 3.6 is scheduled December 2021. We recommend the use of either version 3.9 or 3.8, unless otherwise constrained to an older version.