That's not playing with fire. Playing with fire is when you require an optimization to hit in a specific place in your code. Having software that only works i

That's not playing with fire. Playing with fire is when you require an optimization to hit in a specific place in your code. Having software that only works if optimized means you're effectively relying on optimizations hitting with a high enough rate overall that your code runs fast enough. It's like the difference between an amateur gambler placing one huge ass bet and praying that it hits and a professional gambler (like a Blackjack card counter, or a poker pro) placing thousands or even millions of bets and relying on postive EV to make a profit.