Isaac Clayton

A friend of free software, pushing bits around as an undergrad at MIT. Interested in compilers, display hacks, and AI (as one must be in 2024 2025).

I started programming in 2013 (scratch.mit.edu ♡). In 2015, I learned Python when my uncle told me it was easier to write neural networks if you didn’t … uh … hardcode the matrix multiplication routines.

In 2017, I became obsessed with shaders and GPUs (thank you, Iñigo Quilez). In 2019, I learned Rust to develop a compiler for Passerine. I keep a blog.

In 2021, I was a software engineering intern at tonari.no, where I prototyped real-time depth estimation on the GPU. In 2022, I interned at zed.dev, where I developed a webassembly extension runtime for e.g. adding new languages to the editor.

I graduated highschool in 2022. I deferred my enrollment and proceeded to live in Brazil for two years. I didn’t use the Internet and learned a lot. (After two years offline, I realized that the Internet is overrated.)

In 2024, when I got back from Brazil, I started at MIT. After my first year, in 2025, I (once again) worked at a startup, and a wrote a lot of Rust. I am now in my second year of school. This year, I am helping run Prod.

I love making art and taking photos! I have played basketball/soccer on 4 of 7 continents to date. I enjoy hiking and skiing with my family. Também falo português, meu rei. Y español.

Let’s chat! I will respond to all emails sent to:

• Email: hi@isaac.sh · copy

I also have accounts on:

• GitHub: slightknack
• “Twitter”: slightknack
• HN: slightknack
• Lobsters: slightknack
• Discord: slightknack
• … and so on