How does 'not' affect what we understand? Scientists find negation mitigates our interpretation of phrases

When we're told 'This coffee is hot' upon being served a familiar caffeinated beverage at our local diner or cafe, the message is clear. But what about when we're told 'This coffee is not hot'? Does that mean we think it's cold? Or room temperature? Or just warm? A team of scientists has now identified how our brains work to process phrases that include negation (i.e., 'not'), revealing that it mitigates rather than inverts meaning -- in other words, in our minds, negation merely reduces the temperature of our coffee and does not make it 'cold.'

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