When not to trust optimization results?

Quoting 

Either you have a system or you don't - period. A human being can observe 'out of the box' conditions and introduce changes to the rules, but unless there is a reason to make adjustments human beings are simply in the way when it comes to *executing clearly defined rules*.

If i may add my 2 cents. You seem to imply that price changes direction on a dime which is not the case as if it were then even automated BOTS could not develop an edge over the long term. The only reason why we can make money in the markets can be measured by evaluating the level of entropy we find in the system. If markets were as random as a roulette wheel then very few could make money over the long term if any. A level of supply will always be a level of supply and the same is true for a level of demand. You seem to imply these basic tenets are not valid anymore which is totally ridiculous.