why built in functions with the same purpose in python are called differently

Question

the list function:
s = 'spam'
t = list(s)
split :
s = 'pining for the fjords'
t = s.split()
so why list function can't be called like s.list() and or why the split can't be called like t=split(s) , I know that one takes argument , another not, but they serve almost the same purpose

Answer 1

list() does not work on just one type, so it can't be a method.
.split() on the other hand works just with strings.

Answer 2

Look up the difference between functions and methods.

Answer 3

and when I want to think about the purpose of them both, which is turning a string into a list, how would I know or remember that list a function and split is a method ?