This is something of a modern myth — me and my ancestors have been using olive oil for all forms of cooking for centuries. It does fine in high heat applications, you just need to vent off the smoke. Flavor isn’t affected in any noticeable way. There’s some YouTube videos with more science behind the “low smoke” oils and the myths of their being bad for cooking at high heats.
I do use EVOO for pan frying and sometimes just let it smoke. However, I thought I could detect an altered flavor as a result. Will have to read more, thanks!
