Gerard Marx and Chaim Gilon*

¹MX Biotech Ltd., Jerusalem, Israel
²Institute of Chemistry, Hebrew University,Jerusalem, Israel

*Corresponding Author: Chaim Gilon; Institute of Chemistry, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.

Received: April 08, 2025; Published: May 01, 2025

Abstract

Maxwell's Demon is a thought experiment proposed by James Clerk Maxwell in 1867 to challenge the second law of thermodynamics. It has been used by physicists to extract an energy value for information. We question the various thermodynamic descriptions of the demon's ability to separate atoms without considering the energy requirements for "recognition," which involves the parameters "awareness" and "memory". We argue that "information" is distinct from "data" and involves these critical parameters. In contrast to the "demotive" information processing of computers, the emotive qualities of cognitive information (cog-info) is crucial in biological systems. The chemographic description of the tripartite mechanism of neural memory recognizes the emotive factors as embodied by neurotransmitters (NTs). Without an energy-dependent mental apparatus, the demon's putative ability to discern and act on information presents an energy paradox. Thus, we conclude that Maxwell's Demon is a non-existent phantom arising from mathematical manipulations of physicists that do not reflect the energetic and cognitive realities of biology.

Keywords: Maxwell's Demon; Thermodynamics; Information; Tripartite Mechanism Of Memory; Cognitive Information; Consciousness; Neurotransmitter

References

1. Atkinson RC and Shiffrin RM. “Mathematical models for memory and learning. Technical report 79. Institute for Mathematical Studies in Social Sciences”. Stanford University, CA (1965).
2. Panzeri S., et al. “Cracking the neural code for sensory perception by combining statistics, intervention, and behavior”. Neuron 93 (2017): 491- 528.
3. Penrose R. “Quantum physics and conscious thought in Quantum implications: Essays in honour of David Bohm (Ed. B.J. Hiley and F.DE. Pearl). Routeliedge and Kegan Paul, London (1987).
4. Arbib MA. “Brains, Machines and Mathematics. (2^nd Ed). Springer Verlag, Berlin (1987).
5. Sejnowski TJ., et al. “Computational neuroscience”. Science 241 (1988): 1299-306.
6. Freeman WJ. “Three centuries of category errors in studies of the neural basis of consciousness and intentionality”. Neural Networks 10 (1997):  1175-1183.
7. Vannini A. “Quantum models of consciousness”. Quantum Biosystems 2 (2008): 165-184.
8. Robinson P and Kaliouby R. “Computation of emotions in man and machines”. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B - Journals 364 (2009): 3441-3447.
9. Fingelkurts , et al. “Machine” consciousness and “artificial” thought: An operational architectonics model guided approach”. Brain Research 1428 (2012):  80-92.
10. Bosse T., et al. “Emotion Modeling”. Towards Pragmatic Computational Models of Affective”. Springer, New York (2014).
11. Hudlicka E. “From habits to standards: Towards systematic design of  emotion models and affective architecture (2017): 3-23.
12. Dastani M., et al. “Programming agents with emotions (2017): 57-75.
13. Lowe R and Kiryazov K. “Utilizing emotions in autonomous robots:  An enactive approach (2017): 76-98.
14. Dehaene S., et al. “What is consciousness and could machines have it?” Science 358 (2017): 486-492.
15. Fingelkurts AA., et al. “Mind the physics: Physics of mind Comment on “Physics of mind: Experimental confirmations of theoretical predictions” by Felix Schoeller, Leonid Perlovsky, and Dmitry Arseniev”. Physics of Life Reviews 25 (2018): 75-77
16. Szilard L. “On the decrease of entropy in a thermodynamic system by the intervention of intelligent beings”. Zeitschrift fur Physik 65 (1929): 840-866.
17. Maruyama K. “Colloquium: Physics of Maxwell's Demon and information”. Reviews of Modern Physics 31 (2009).
18. Wen Y. “Maxwell's demon at work: Mitochondria, the organelles that convert information into energy?” Chronic Diseases and Translational Medicine 4 (2018): 135-138.
19. Shenker O and Hemmo M. “Maxwell's Demon in quantum mechanics”. Entropy 22 (2020): 269-283.
20. Linke H., et al. “Tuning up Maxwell's demon”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 118 (2021): e2108218118.
21. Bennett C. “The thermodynamics of computation. A review”. International Journal of Theoretical Physics 21 (1982): 905-940.
22. Bennett C. “Notes on Landauer's principle: Reversible computation and Maxwell's demon”. Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 34 (2003): 501-510.
23. Landauer R. “a. Information is physical”. Physics Today (1996a): 93-29.
24. The physical nature of information”. Physics Letters A 217 (1996b): 188-193.
25. Lieberman HR. “Cognitive methods for assessing mental energy”. Nutritional Neuroscience 10 (2007): 229-242.
26. Marx G and Gilon C. “The molecular basis of memory”. ACS Chemical Neuroscience 3 (2012): 633-642.
27. Marx G and Gilon C. “The molecular basis of memory. MBM Pt 2: The chemistry of the tripartite mechanism”. ACS Chemical Neuroscience 4 (2013): 983–993.
28. Marx G and Gilon C. “The molecular basis of neural memory. Part 10. The sins and redemption of neurobiology”. Journal of Neurology and Neurocritical Care 1 (2018): 1-7.
29. Marx G and Gilon C. “Memory, emotions, language and mind”. Journal of Psychology and Neuroscience 2 (2020): 1-9.
30. Marx G and Gilon C. “Interpreting neural morphology”. Acta Scientific Neurology 3 (2020): 1-4.
31. Marx G and Gilon C. “Questioning Tononi’s “Information Integration” Theory of Consciousness”. ACTA Scientific Neurology 6 (2023):
32. Marx G and Gilon C. “Consciousness” as a fusion of the Global Neuronal Network (GNW) hypothesis and the tripartite mechanism of memory”. International Journal of Psychiatry Research2 (2024): 1-6.
33. Marx G and Gilon C. “Connectome projects and mentality”. International Journal of Psychiatry Research4 (2024): 1-8.
34. Turing A M. “Computing machinery and intelligence”. Mind (New Series)23 (1950): 433-460.
35. Boole G. “The Laws of Thought”. The Mathematical Theories of Logic and Probabilities. Project Gutenberg (EBook #15114). Released (1853).

Citation

Citation: Gerard Marx and Chaim Gilon. “Wrestling Maxwell's Demon".Acta Scientific Neurology 8.5 (2025): 03-08.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2025 Gerard Marx and Chaim Gilon. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.