I Wrote a Python Interpreter in Python. What I Learned Has Nothing to Do With Python

The author built a Python interpreter in Python, including a lexer, parser, AST, and evaluator.

That hands-on work deepened their understanding of language semantics and improved how they judge code and explanations.

Their biggest takeaway was a stronger instinct for spotting when Claude is wrong or uncertain.

The piece argues that building core language machinery helps people evaluate AI-generated output more critically.