The Science of Kindness

When Lucile Randon—a French nun with kind eyes and a hooked nose—was 116 years old, she contracted COVID-19 and suffered no symptoms at all. At 118, she became the oldest living person in the world. She died in her sleep less than a month before her 120th birthday, making her, as far as we know, the fourth-oldest person ever to live.

It might have been Randon’s genes that helped her live so long, or her love of chocolate and wine. What may have also helped, though, was Randon’s kindness. In her New York Times obituary, she was called “a profoundly good” person “dedicated to others.” She spent decades caring for orphans.