I wonder if an agent, or the act of observation, is kind of like causing a nucleation site to form, thereby allowing the "crystallization", or formation, of the state of affairs (e.g., what is observed) to proceed. What I'm thinking is as follows. Let's say that reality is made of little, jiggling membranes. One might call these strings, loops, or whatever. They have the potential to cause the formation of other membranes around them. This potential is what is called quantum probability. But, while the membranes are jiggling, there's no stable, unmoving surface that can serve as a nucleation site for this potential, or quantum probability, to collapse and cause the formation of the new surrounding membranes. This means, then, that the act of observation by an agent is just the ability to temporarily stop the jiggling of a membrane, thereby allowing a stable surface to be present and act as a nucleation site to allow the surrounding quantum probability to "crystallize", or collapse, and causing the formation of the new surrounding membranes and the appearance of the observer-caused state of affairs.
Just an idea I've been working on based on my own thinking. Thanks.