Really? At what temperature and pressure does consciousness change state? What is its density? What are consciousness's component particles? Does it fill a container, or have a fixed volume? What's the index of refraction of consciousness? How do we transition elements like copper or iron into consciousness, or is it only reachable by certain particles like bosons?<p>I'm curious about the answers, because it sounds like none of those questions actually make any sense, but they would have to be answerable of any proposed new phase of matter.<p>You can't just call something a state of matter without understanding what that actually means.<p>"...physicists have been reluctant to discuss consciousness, considering it a topic for quacks and charlatans."<p>Maybe they were on to something.