Oh I see, we're talking acceleration vs top speed.

Yeah no doubt from me if we're talking about heating up a full pot of water. I do that in a water boiler instead, which is also electric. I was talking more about how quick a chicken filet starts to sizzle if I put it in a pan - and then I definitely do NOT want to proceed to go to max heat! And that's what I meant is (pretty much) instant, couple of seconds maybe (sorry I don't have any chicken filet right now and it isn't dinner time either).

Which, in the end, also falls back to theoretical vs practical a little bit. If I need a lot of water e.g. for noodles, I use the water boiler first - but either way waiting for the water to boil is in the range of minutes. A minute more or less wouldn't make a difference in the process of cooking.

OTOH, if I put a chicken filet in my pan, I already know I'll instantly add salt and spices, and I don't have time to do anything else in the next minute or so. Reaction time is in seconds.