Anyone can apply to become a TED fellow (http://www.ted.com/pages/view/id/247 http://www.ted.com/pages/view/id/247). A couple of people I know personally have b

Anyone can apply to become a TED fellow (http://www.ted.com/pages/view/id/247 http://www.ted.com/pages/view/id/247). A couple of people I know personally have been past fellows. Going by what I've seen, it may be easier to become a TED fellow than to be selected for Y Combinator, but that's another argument. On the contrary, the registration fee for the TED INK conference held in Lonavala, India recently was $2200 a pop for residents (http://theinkconference.com/Register http://theinkconference.com/Register), which no middle class Indian can afford. Even that didn't guarantee that one would actually get a seat, 'cause surprise! They will "..review each application form in detail to find the right match of attendees". Amazing.