Then TED curator Chris Anderson got up onstage to engage the two economists in a debate.

FORBES: Would You Rather Have Indoor Plumbing Or An iPhone?

"This is the brain trust of the New Economy, right here, " said TED organizer Chris Anderson , a British publisher who a couple of years ago set up the conference as a nonprofit organization.

FORBES: What A Billionaire (Really) Wants

And I was able to discuss learning with TED curator Chris Anderson, who has described how the Internet is encouraging people around the world to develop skills, such as the ability to learn to play musical instruments, that might have previously been out of reach.

CNN: The Internet was my music teacher

Rumor had it that Wurman waited until the day after his noncompete agreement to begin planning EG, which came across very much as a thumb in the eye of the other Anderson's TED.

FORBES: Magazine Article

As Chris Anderson, the Curator of the TED Conferences, wrote recently: video has the ability to accelerate knowledge.

FORBES: YouTube Reveals A Curated Future

Wurman sold TED in 2002 to U.K. publishing entrepreneur Chris Anderson (no relation to the editor of Wired magazine--though Anderson the editor was at EG--just to confuse those playing from home).

FORBES: Son Of TED

This Chris Anderson, not the author of Free, runs the exclusive TED conference (Technology, Entertainment, Design), which began in 1984 as an invite-only hobnob session for thought leaders.

FORBES: How to Fight Back Against Disruption and Compete with Free