Assuming infinite matter were available, is there a limit to the possible consciousnesses that could be made out of it?
No limit, unless you construct an arbitrary definition of ‘consciousness’ that for some reason decrees that vast sets of different consciousnesses must be lumped in together as one.
Assuming a speed limit of communication such as light speed, why couldn’t sufficiently large minds always either be made from less matter or merely be larger versions of smaller, identical patterns?
If you’re talking about possibility rather than efficiency, then what does a speedlimit have to do with anything? A big algorithm (mind or otherwise) that requires too much nonlocal communication will just run slowly.
No limit, unless you construct an arbitrary definition of ‘consciousness’ that for some reason decrees that vast sets of different consciousnesses must be lumped in together as one.
Assuming a speed limit of communication such as light speed, why couldn’t sufficiently large minds always either be made from less matter or merely be larger versions of smaller, identical patterns?
If you’re talking about possibility rather than efficiency, then what does a speedlimit have to do with anything? A big algorithm (mind or otherwise) that requires too much nonlocal communication will just run slowly.
With no speed limit, a designer of a bigger mind could easily take advantage of its size to form new, unique mind patterns by linking distant parts.
With the speed limit, many big minds are in exactly the same pattern as smaller ones, only slower.
If a mind is big enough, it may dwarf its components such that it is consciously the same as a smaller mind in a similar pattern.