Ben Prystawski
Computer Science Specialist, AI Focus
Cognitive Science Major
Trinity College
Why did you choose U of T for your undergrad?
In high school, I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to study in university, so I chose U of T because it has strong departments across the board. The general first year in Arts and Science let me take a wide variety of courses, confident in the knowledge that U of T would have a good program in whatever I chose.
What inspired you to study computer science?
I enjoyed math in high school and liked to program and tinker with computers, but at the same time I was interested in other subjects like linguistics, philosophy, economics, and psychology. I ended up deciding to study computer science because it mixes well with other fields. You can put the word "computational" in front of lots of other disciplines, like linguistics, biology, or neuroscience, and get a cool interdisciplinary field. Ultimately, I decided to combine my computer science specialist with a cognitive science major, which let me explore applications of computational ideas to questions about the language and the mind.
Who or what at U of T influenced your education the most?
I've had the great fortune of doing research with three fantastic professors at U of T: Yang Xu, Joseph Williams, and Daphna Buchsbaum. I learned a ton from them, both specific concepts in computer science and cognitive science and general advice for navigating my career and further learning. These professors had a major influence on my decision to pursue a career in academia and helped me get into graduate school.
How did you get involved at U of T outside of your coursework?
I got involved with the Computer Science Student Union (CSSU), where I was a general council member in my second year and director of academic events in my third year. I also worked with U of T AI, helping to put together an extracurricular course that teaches the basics of AI and machine learning to first and second-year students. These groups were really fun to be a part of and I met a lot of great people through them.
What U of T memory do you treasure the most?
Some of my favourite U of T memories are from exploring Toronto with my friends. There are tons of great restaurants, parks, and museums within walking distance of campus. I especially enjoyed trying new cuisines and visiting places like Allan Gardens and the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM).
If you could go back and give yourself one piece of advice at the start of your undergraduate degree, what would it be?
I would advise myself to focus my attention on whatever I'm doing. I spent most of my first and second years trying to do schoolwork and entertainment at the same time, like trying to work while listening to a podcast, without really accomplishing either of them. It's really easy to spend hours at a library scrolling through social media with a textbook open and convince yourself that you've studied. I've learned that it's much more fulfilling and enjoyable to spend 8 hours doing truly focused work then 4 hours having fun rather than 12 hours in this weird half-working half-relaxing state.
Is there a lesson you learned as an undergraduate student that you’ll take with you moving forward?
How easy something is to measure has very little to do with its importance. Earlier in my degree, I was too narrowly focused on easily measurable variables like my grades. Grades were definitely important for me, but harder-to-measure aspects of my degree, like the people I met and the subtle shifts in the ways I think about the world, were probably at least as important. Moving forward, I am trying to pay attention to parts of my life that are hard to quantify and make sure I don't neglect them.
What’s next for you?
I will start my PhD in Psychology at Stanford in September! My research will be on computational modelling of language.
This Q&A has been edited for clarity and length.