From Fallen London Wiki

all of these actions are so *weighty*. so much Happens in each of them. a sevenfold lab grind, a heist above all heists, all in a single button press. every single CP of Mind's Ascent feels like the sort of thing one would have to go through an entire ambition subsection, a tiny knife-gate, for. but no, it's just an action and a damnably hard skill check.