Do technologies still get cheaper as they get older/discovered by others in Civ 5?
Solution 1:
If you have met other civilizations that have discovered some technology you do not have, your cost to research that technology is discounted.
The formulas are
discount = floor(30*civRatio)
civRatio = civs that are both met and have the tech / total civs on map
Here are the discounts for some civRatio values:
CivRatio : Discount
25% : 7%
50% : 15%
75% : 22%
100% : 30% (not attainable, as you would have the tech)
Given this information... one potential use is to push hard for civil service (food good for science), then catch up on other research.