Mesh and measure in early general relativity

•Discusses difficulties in understanding the meaning of coordinates in early general relativity.•Shows that this meaning is unclear in Einstein׳s original account of the new predictions of his theory.•Shows that these shortcomings confused many of Einstein׳s early readers.•Shows the importance of the clarification brought by Arthur Stanley Eddington, Hermann Weyl, and Max von Laue in this regard.

In the early days of general relativity, several of Einstein׳s readers misunderstood the role of coordinates or “mesh-system” in ways that threatened the basic predictions of the theory. This confusion largely derived from intrinsic defects of Einstein׳s first systematic exposition of his theory. A few of Einstein׳s followers, including Arthur Eddington, Hermann Weyl, and Max von Laue, identified the interpretive difficulties and solved them by combining a deeply geometrical understanding of the theory with detailed attention to the concrete conditions of measurement.