Just Looking Around

Information Manipulation Theory 2 (IMT2) is an example of the broad class of cognitive functionalist theories of message production. That is, IMT2 seeks to explicate message production (and in particular, deceptive message production) by recourse to the functional (rather than material) architecture of the system(s) that give rise to such messages. IMT2 is a welcome addition to theorizing in this area and certainly merits careful consideration and discussion. This essay examines the theory's underlying architecture (particularly with respect to functionalist concerns of parsimony/elegance), formalisms that may not be sufficiently explicated, and aspects of deceptive-message production not explicitly addressed in the current version of IMT2. A final section of this essay invites a contrast between IMT2 and second-generation Action Assembly Theory.