Dinh-Vinh Colomban

Please tell us about your research project.
I am a PhD candidate in philosophy. My dissertation deals with the emergence of statistics and probability in the 17th and 18th centuries, and how it helped transform how we conceived knowledge.
To be able to “measure” uncertainty and probability through mathematical tools was something rather new. It had a lot of implications in sciences and theories of knowledge, but also a political aspect (as these tools could shape how we “see” society and how we could govern it).
During my stay at the MFO, I am working on the dispute about the measurement of the risk of smallpox and “inoculation” in England in the early 18th century. It led to the first use of statistics to settle a medical dispute. However, the exact role those statistics played is not so clear, and that’s what I am working on here.

Could you please tell us a bit more about your scholarship/exchange programme?
I am here thanks to the “monthly scholarship” awarded by the MFO. It provides accommodation at the MFO building for the whole month, and I am very grateful for it.
I also have access to the collections of the Bodleian Library which includes some relevant materials for my studies that are not available elsewhere.

First impressions of Oxford/the University?
It’s very beautiful and also quite impressive. You can really feel the history of the place. The city and the University are just one and the same and it is hard to walk without coming across some magnificent Colleges or Libraries. It is also an excellent working environment – everything is nearby and, at the same time, you have so many beautiful places to work to choose from!