Clive Tickner

Einstein’s so-called ‘hole’ argument was a labelling issue. A dinner party scenario explains the problem. There could be two seating plans; In plan A: Alice could sit in Seat 1, next to Bob in Seat 2. OR; plan B: Alice could sit in Seat 5, with Bob in Seat 6. Mathematics says that Plan A and plan B are two totally different setups, as they use completely different numbers (1,2 vs. 5,6).

Imagining two different plans for the same room gave physicists before Einstein a mathematical headache, that any event organiser could solve easily.

Their problem arose when applying the issue to the Universe- (Why would they?) - in deciding exactly where Alice and Bob should sit.

Taking the issue seriously, Einstein claimed: "Seat 1" and "Seat 5" only exist because someone has numbered them. They are temporarily, conveniently, designated. Neither does space come pre-printed with seat numbers or even GPS coordinates. The only real physical event that happens in the example above is that Alice sits next to Bob.

It doesn't matter if you label their location using Chart A, Chart B, or a grid system written in Roman numerals. As long as Alice is always sitting next to Bob, then the physical reality is 100% identical. The grid numbers (1, 2, 5, 6) are just human-made fictions-like translating the same sentence into different languages.

Einstein’s original error was that two different mathematical charts appeared to mean two different physical outcomes; subsequently, realising that the math was just changing the labels (seat numbers), not changing the reality of Alice sitting next to Bob. Thus, he resolved that space isn't an invisible grid waiting for things to happen in it. Space is created only by physical things interacting with each other.