There is a way to avoid this kind of problem; have sufficiently complicated syntax that most random permutations caused by "fat-fingering" are incorrect. Python's problem is that the syntax is so minimalist, and the semantics so rich, that any random typo is liable to do something.

For what it's worth, I think Python's approach here is the right one (at least, for Python.) As others have noted, the common answer to this among Python users is to just use a linter to catch these kinds of issues, although I find that unsatisfying- linters can't catch everything, and they require you to have your stuff together well enough to use them (e.g., you can't be a student who is already overwhelmed with the bare necessary stack.) There are things that seem like they could be done to alleviate these kinds of problems within the language itself; most obviously, for the particular problem in the OP, a variable annotation expression could require the right-hand to be a type expression. It's not clear to me why these kinds of moves aren't taken.