I softlocked myself by not having enough space for an electricity pole in range of a house, which means I can't make a student, which means I can't make a scientist, which means I can't make a research center. Any solutions that don't include taking back everything I did?
You should always ensure that you have the seed and two kids out in front of whatever youre doing, so you can begin from scratch again without having to take stuff apart. Before attempting the industrial age, send your tree forward at maximum range (take a kid to help actually maximise the range of the tree, otherwise your range is hindered by the fog of time), so send the tree forward like 5 times and when you build things in there, always leave two bits of space free directly to the left of the trees, this gives room to place an electrical pole and route electricity to all your stuff.