Comment on an information theoretic approach to the study of non-equilibrium steady states

We argue that there is a fundamental problem regarding the analysis that serves as the foundation for the papers ‘Information theory explanation of the fluctuation theorem, maximum entropy production and self-organized criticality in non-equilibrium stationary states’ (Dewar 2003 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen.36 631–41) and ‘Maximum entropy production and the fluctuation theorem’ (Dewar 2005 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen.38 L371–81). In particular, we demonstrate that this analysis is based on an assumption that is physically unrealistic and that, hence, the results obtained in those papers cannot be regarded as physically meaningful.