ABSTRACT
In putting forward a case for a quantum theory of musical creativity, this chapter is designed to recognise that such a theory is not only simply a contention, rather than an explanatory formulation that can stand for all time, but also, that it is only 'a snapshot of a snapshot'. Karen Barad's project presents a set of technical terms and concepts that are drawn from quantum physics and uses them as a basis for building her own epistemological and ontological model of 'agential realism'. Barad makes a sustained engagement with the concept of diffraction, which for her, denotes the way in which waves overlap and disturb each other: Diffraction is a phenomenon that is unique to wave behaviour. The nature of entanglement is central to the model of quantum physics that Barad builds, and another foundation for her approach is the idea that 'space, time and matter do not exist prior to the intra-actions that reconstitute entanglements'.
