Think that's called a transformer.

that is not an induction stove, nor are coil stoves that bad, you just had a particularly shit one

Sounds like you've never used induction lol. You're literally describing the problems with convection.

there was like two settings to these things. They didn’t work at all or they turned red hot to maximum heat.

Induction cooking is amazing because it has far more precise temperature control to gas. It's odd that you associate it with the opposite experience, when one of the best features of an induction heater is being able to set the exact temperature you want.

I make soap and sweets at home, and posted this list the last time the gas vs induction thing game up:

• Setting it to exactly 40C means you can melt chocolate reliably, without the hassle of a bain marie
• At 60C you can combine cetostearyl alcohol and vegetable oil for moisturizer without boiling off your glycerine
• At 80C you can cook soap to the trace point you want without overcooking it and making it lumpy
• At 100C you can evaporate moisture and reduce a sauce with minimal effect on other ingredients
• At 100-160C you can cook a sugar syrup to a precisely desired level of concentration (as the boiling point goes up as the concentration increases) for making different types of candy

Only the most specialized, professional gas stoves let you set a specific temperature rather than a knob that goes from "medium" to "high". Even the most basic $50 induction plates have that feature.

The only thing you can do on gas that you can't do on induction is using the flame flambee alcohol, and you can just use a lighter or kitchen torch for that.

they turned red hot to maximum heat

Those weren't induction as far as i know, induction isn't supposed to get red hot

Being reminded of something doesn't make the comparison accurate. My induction range is awesome and nothing like that. It's a completely different technology than coil stoves. I've used gas professionally, I've used coils, I've used glasstop. Induction is the best by a wide margin.

you’ve just ‘passed the buck’ of the dirty air/pollution a few miles away.

Here the thing, burning the fuel to directly heat a pan is far more efficient than burning the gas for electricity to use for cooking, as you need to heat a boiler, spin a turbine, generate electric, send to your home … That’s inefficient.

This is not true - industrial turbines burn more efficiently and form less pollutants than small burners which don't have the same quality control.

you've just 'passed the buck' of the dirty air/pollution a few miles away.

Expecting everyone to individually make choices that benefit the long-term, instead of consolidating resources to solve for large groups together using economies of scale, is exactly how the fossil fuel industry has been successful for generations at ensuring no progress is made. It's a divide-and-conquer approach.

Here the thing, burning the fuel to directly heat a pan is far more efficient

It absolutely isn't if you are comparing a gas stove vs an induction one. You are losing a huge amount of the heat around the pan and warming your room with gas.

I don’t even know what you’re trying to argue at this point. But it sounds like you’re planning on starving unless you can make your electric range be powered by solar power so have fun with that.