On Rationality

The factors associated with rationality;
Facts; Seen and experienced and verified
Beliefs; Heard, felt, imagined
Perceptions; Seen, experienced, verified, imagined and resultant individual /collective understandings/opinions

It can be debated if the subject of rationality is normative or empirical. The experimentation on a subject with careful observation of various test results together provide an understanding. More or less the practicality of a subjects is what generally understood as rational.
Rational thinking is a good practice and it streamlines thoughts. The calm, unbiased, neutral and detached mindset is more likely to be rational than otherwise.
We don't consciously think rational. Based on the experience and outlook towards various things, we tend to gather the information (facts), add little of beliefs and perceive on the degree of inclination towards any of these. When we consciously initiate our sequence of thought process intending to be rational, become more fact oriented and the practice goes on. It is like cookies in our computers, which by default provides the earlier downloaded information..!!
The argument of a rational thinking, which should be an ultimate fact based philosophy,
is quite paradoxical when we try to put that into an empirical study..!! Because logically we
do not prove a fact as a fact but either prove or disprove a belief!!!
There is an example like this;
If A=B then prove that A+A=2B
Here A=B is a belief. A+A=2B is the experimentation logic. If we could prove that A+A=2B, then we justify this belief. Else, we the basic belief is incorrect. In either way, the logic tend to
test a belief, based on a readily proved belief which is in this case our understanding of A+A=2B..!!

In real life, the rational thinking does not have the advantage of logical sequences of mathematics problems..!! In either way there needs to be many empirical test results of general knowledge and experiences to add sequences to our thought process..!!! But life experiences and general knowledge are subject to exceptions. Therefore a rational thinking may be proved irrational in terms of exceptional situations.
I mention a very thought provoking statement by a German colleagues of mine, at my earlier
employer. We drove on a busy MG road and he was seated next to me, trying hard to pull up the window!! It easilly moved up half and stuck in between..! After a series of struggle, he simply turned the handle in the opposite direction, and.. voila.. glass window went up..!! I did not understand how it worked and I asked him if he tried some logic...he quickly reverted..'logic works accidentally' ....