Cutting down more trees won't help the situation. With only 1 luxury and without the benefit of temples, we cannot grow beyond size 5.
My numbers actually do not include the benefit of adding the incense to the north which would allow our city to grow to size 6, which should slightly reduce the time to completion.
Of course, prebuilding in another town is an option, but none of our other towns have shown the productive capacity that Shen Ling has.
But, back on topic.... the results of this poll are unsettling to me. In an SP game, it is safe to assume that acquiring Mathematics is a safer route to success as the trades are assured. However, as we have already seen in the recent proposal from GCA, there is no guarantee that we will be able to agree on terms of trade for Writing.
Researching Mathematics does not guarantee that we will get any closer to the desired goals of Literacy or Map Making. While it is possible for us to trade the techs, I fear that it is more likely that someone else will get it first and leave us out to dry.
In my opinion, researching Mathematics greatly reduces our chances of obtaining either the Great Library or the Great Lighthouse. I will not go so far as to say that it will prevent us from getting either wonder, but I know that pursuing that path will require us to put our fate in the hands of our neighbors... and that is not a comfortably situation considering the offers we have received from GCA lately.