Optimistic locking in Rails is straightforward to implement by adding a "lock_version" column to an ActiveRecord model, allowing for the detection of concurrent updates and preventing data conflicts through ActiveRecord::StaleObjectError. However, its default behavior can be limiting when dealing with fields that may become slightly outdated or are updated in the background, as these scenarios might not warrant strict locking. Instead of restructuring data into separate tables to avoid locking issues, developers can use a module that allows selective disabling of optimistic locking for specific fields, preventing unnecessary increments of the lock_version counter and avoiding StaleObjectErrors. This approach provides flexibility in managing data updates without compromising the integrity of more critical data changes.