I want to run pdb, step through the code, and at some point change the value pointed at by some name. So I might want to change the value pointed at by the name \'stationLat\'
Actually, the value of the variable does get changed when you assign a new value in pdb. But if you try to read the variable in pdb again without running your code, it may reset to the original value.
If you step back into your code, you should see that it will use your new value (-40).
Try this:
stationLat = -40
s # step back into code
stationLat # should display -40