[westopher]

The amount of time above a certain heat will give oil that burnt flavour. If you put it in a ripping hot pan, and get what you are searing in there right away, it will still provide the effect of the super hot pan (no sticking) without giving the oil the chance to degrade as the food that's in it will keep it at a lower temperature, like an ice cube in hot liquid. Its still hot, as its in the ripping hot pan, but it doesn't spend too much time above that smoke point.