What does "medium-high" actually mean? How does everything not burn?

So, to me, medium-high means between medium and high. On all ovens I've had, stove tops go to 9 place, so I put mine at 7.

If I've got a steak, I can cook it in that pan for maybe 8 minutes before it starts burning. This has been true for every single stove I've ever had, and I've had 5.

When I watch cooking videos, some of these people are cooking on medium high for things that would DEFINITELY burn on my stoves. Was watching Chef John's Tikka Masala video and he is searing chicken that's coated with curry powder, and he's doing it over high heat. Curry seasoning will 100% burn every time, no matter what, if I let my pan get to high heat before adding my chicken, even accounting for loss in temperature from adding the chicken.

I don't understand. Does medium-high/high mean something else? No matter the skill level, more than half the things I see people cook at this temperature would burn in under 30 seconds if I put it on my stove. Again, not a faulty stove, I've had several in the past.

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