implicit Optimizers

A mouse cannot be used to click on a button that says “optimize.” There is no special command to enter. In fact, there is no special software or even machine insight. Does this mean there is no optimizer? No. Even when there is no optimizer apparent, and it seems as though no optimization is going on, there is. It is known as implicit optimization and works as follows: The trader tests a set of rules based upon some ideas regarding the market. Performance of the system is poor, and so the trader reworks the ideas, modifies the system’s rules, and runs another simulation Better performance is observed. The trader repeats this process a few times, each time making changes based on what has been learned along the way.
Eventually, the trader builds a system worthy of being traded with real money. Was this system an optimized one? Since no parameters were ever explicitly adjusted and no rules were ever rearranged by the software, it appears as if the trader has succeeded in creating an unoptimized system.
However, more than one solution from a set of many possible solutions was tested and the best solution was selected for use in trading or further study.