================= Like some of the very very basic EW principles; your comparison of EW to a clock must be to a sucessful manufacturing -inventing of clocks, not telling time. Honestly I am just not cut out to manufacture clocks; tell time pretty well,,as most adults do Every one agrees on time zones & very close to exact time; Ew is NOT like that at all. Congrats on you profitable corn trading; agree with fibo numbers, retracements being much more helpful[and exact and generally helpful , unlike most of EW] Again your comparison of EW to fatherhood may be helpful in the corn markets; havent noticed it in indexes. However some dont like 50dma [i do]& claim back testing proves against 50dma. Paul Tudor Jones likes some of it ; but that could be limited to nunbers 3 or 5.
I've been a broker for 30 years and I've had a lot of "former" clients who risk their life savings trading based on EW. Even after losing their life savings, they still "believe" in the system because - "aha, now I see what the 'appropriate' count should have been." Therefore, the EW trader is "always" RIGHT - if only he had used the alternate count. Iin another words, the EW trader is never wrong - only misinterpredted the "true" patern.
When Elliott Wave patterns always appear in hindsight, it must simply mean one thing: the approach that the majority are using is incorrect. That's how they can consistently miss in real time, what is obviously occurring in real time. Determine the correct approach and EW will work for you too. And, it can be backtested.
It's got value. You have to consider testing Elliott Wave (or Gann) in a composite sense... For example, have you tested Elliott Wave with the wave past patterns into consideration? Multiple timeframe... Multiple resolution... should be considered for testing...
If there were a standardized "Elliot Wave" theory to test you might be right. As it is, well it is worse than hooey. it is pure crap.... Sorry