Yes, good strategy, which could include doing tech research, can win the game for you just like the dice can cost you the game.
Problem is, some people want to get rid of technology all together because they don’t understand how to use it too their advantage. It’s like someone arguing that AA Guns should be taken out of the game because there is a chance they can shoot down your entire air force and thus, cost you the game.
It’s technically a valid argument on the face of it. But if you look closer, you’ll see it’s just a silly, petulant argument by a child who lost a game due to poor game play and poor planning.
Should you always assume every bomber on the board is a heavy bomber and account for it? Heck no. If there’s only 1 bomber then the tech is hardly a threat, if the player has no technologies yet, then odds are slim he’ll get heavy bombers.
But if your opponent is sitting on half a dozen bombers, and if they were heavy bombers they, in conjunction with his fleet, would have a good chance to sink you, then yes, you should assume they are heavy bombers and act accordingly. Even if he does not get the tech, it’s better to make the safe move instead of the risky move and hope he does not get them.
It’s all planning and strategy. If you take the risk and get spanked, it’s not the fault of technology, it’s your bad game play. Instead of whining about it, why not learn the lesson of being safe instead of risky all the time?
Heck, you have a more valid leg to stand on if you get ridiculous dice in your major battle. At least there you can say that with 100s of units involved, the odds of a major swing is effectively nil and thus, if it occurs, the dice gods hate you. But to complain when someone gets that 1 in 36 shot of getting a technology that can be harmful to you, and they have the pieces available to do the harm to you, and you were stupid enough to put yourself in a position the harm can be done to you, is far in excess of bad luck.
The odds of all those things falling into place at the right time and the right place to cost you the game is astronomical. They have to be lucky twice over, and you have to be a complete dunce to get into that situation. In cases like that, I have no pity for you.