great job ision, wonderful statements. I agree with the great library statement, and a HUGE reason that i never rely on it is that, after you get education in the middle ages, you have to worry about researching tech, and the late middle ages and early industrial is where you get your most important things, well after the great library is long and forgotten.
I tryed to get all of the wonders on my first regent, getting a massive military, and cranking science to full. Guess what? Most of my units were disbanded, i ran into a deficit, and got my major rescource cities taken over by the gauls, who used galic swordsmen and owned me.
The only thing now i focus on is my most important, the great lighthouse (gotta love the early bonus of meeting new civs), and gradually weening myself off of that too.
I see no point also in getting shakespheres theatre, okay, culture is great, after the middle ages, most of your expansion is over, and the only cities that can build it before the AI has already expanded most of what it can, and are in the core of your empire, and for just getting a metro, you are only a few techs away from hospitals, and by the time you get it done, you have the hospitals to build in like 10 turns.