The illusion of precision in financial planning

Talk to any financial planner (or use an online one), and you'll eventually get a document almost like the Union Budget's explainers. There will be dozens of pages, colour-coded charts, projections stretching decades into the future, and calculations precise to the last rupee. Your retirement corpus? Rs 14,73,82,456. Your child's education fund in 2041? Rs 1,67,23,891. Is the monthly SIP required to achieve financial nirvana? Rs 63,847.