India, May 12 -- We perceive the world not in any objectively accurate sense but through the lens of our own needs, goals, and prior experience. Still, we take a lot of pride in being a rational person. This is evident in our endeavour to get the highest degree of educational qualification from topmost educational gatekeepers - a signaling effort on our part to make us look smarter and rational.

Therefore, when it comes to voting, we expect every person to exercise this democratic right with a lot of rationality, but alas, that expectation is often misplaced. Because a voter in general never subjects his/her decision to even a conservatively moderate level of analysis. That is why voting is inherently irrational, and contrary to popular ...