A number of tricky problems in probability are discussed, having in common one or more infinite sequences of coin tosses, and a representation as a problem in dependent percolation. Three of these problems are of ‘Winkler’ type, that is, they are challenges for a clairvoyant demon.

We study a new quantum heat engine (QHE), which is assisted by a Maxwell's demon. The QHE requires three steps: thermalization, quantum measurement, and quantum feedback controlled by the Maxwell demon. We derive the positive-work condition and operation efficiency of this composite QHE. Using controllable superconducting quantum circuits as an example, we show how to construct our QHE. The ess...

We present a computational model of how verbs might be learned within the limited domain of hand actions We hypothesize that such verbs refer to the activities of underlying motor schemas and leverage this constraint to build a system with strong enough biases that it can learn from a reasonably small number of examples while still having adequate exibility to learn the hand action verbs of any...

As the blades of a propeller pass through the water they produce characteristic amplitude modulated random noise signals which can be detected using sonar. A popular empirical technique for passive acoustic detection of surface ships from submarines using these sonar signals is DEMON (Detection of Envelope Modulation on Noise) processing. As the name suggests, DEMON processing seeks to detect t...

In this second part of our two-part paper we review and analyse attempts since 1950 to use information theoretic notions to exorcise Maxwell’s Demon. We argue through a simple dilemma that these attempted exorcisms are ineffective, whether they follow Szilard in seeking a compensating entropy cost in information acquisition or Landauer in seeking that cost in memory erasure. In so far as the De...

A simulation has been performed to reveal the detailed dynamics and statistical behavior of a Maxwell demon of the simplest kind, a trap door held over by a spring inside a box filled with gas molecules. The role of such a demon can be controlled by tuning Smoluchowski's fluctuations. When the demon is in thermal equilibrium with the rest of the system, it fails to function as designed, and whe...