Why make Nitroglycerin special tech?
It isn't tech, it is chemical compound, one of many other Explosives (which we already have as tech and basically Explosives became potential after nitroglycerene, before that it was basically large quantities of gunpowder).
It just makes no sense.
[edit] other new techs are almost all concepts of other techs, which we already have ingame, for example:
Critical Thought is concept of Scientific Method
Enlightenment is part of Education. I honestly don't understand what makes it outstanding separate tech.
Patent Rights - this one okay.
Emancipation and Women's Suffrage - aren't those basically same? Also, i think Emancipation is XX century concept. Also, we already have Women Suffrage wonder.
Minority Rights - isn't this one part of Representative Democracy?
There are civics and national/world wonders and buildings which should be in place of those (and some are). There is difference between buildings and techs - we technically can make every building separate tech, but i don't think it is the right direction.
Techs, especially with lately introduced increased research times (300-400% etc., which i personally like in my games), should be something gross, a key points in game, like Machinery, Feudalism etc.
Another issue - those listed techs are parts of western liberal kind of states. What if i run teocratic, or fascist or communist state? Do i still have to research Rights of Minorities in that case? (btw, i run caste in my games till the end of game, the liberal civic is too weak).
Just my 2 cents, sorry for posting in wrong topic ...
These are mostly techs from Realism Inviticus, except for Minority Rights, Emacipation and Women's Suffrage.
1. Nitroglycerene is made separate in the difference between a fuse bomb/grenade and dynamite/TNT.
2. In RI they had a scientific method tech (scientific experiment) and critical thought. note that CT come sometime before SM.
3. Enlightenment again is a separate tech in RI they have University instead of Education.
4. Patent Rights was made so we can have a Patent Office building.
5. Emancipation and Women's Suffrage are different and come at different times. Emancipation is dealing with the end of slavery, American Civil War and Emaciation Proclamation. This tech will make slavery civic very hard to use.
6. Women's Suffrage while influenced by the end of slavery is a movement to itself. The wonder will be moved here and possibly new buildings.
7. Minority Rights is not the same as representative democracy. In early US history we had this and still minorities and women could not vote. This is all to do with the civil rights movement.
8. Don't think of it as making a tech for civic or building, think of it as those civics and buildings having a more fitting tech to be enabled at. One that can also be used to make new buildings and/or civics.
9. Just because they are empty now doesn't mean they will not be filled in over time. Also with the addition of science and hammer producing buildings techs go through faster than they did before because there is a lot more to go through. Thus reducing huge tech jumps, more like a steady flow of small chanced (as in real life). I would much rather have the tech tree work like a ramp than steep stairs.
10. Discovering the tech and applying the tech are 2 different things. For instance the leaders of North Korea is well aware Western culture and its freedoms, however they do not apply it to running their government.
11. I also agree that Liberal is too weak. It would be nice to make some of the later civics more appealing. Not in a way they were the one you HAD to pick but in a way that it would be better for a specific type of play style.
:/
in cities that complain about "it´s too crowded" .
). But with such a huge topic in todays western societes ( and maybe others as well, not sure) one has to be carefull.
. 
i kid, 
