Dan Davis – Polymath
An extraordinarily valuable bright light in our world’s “civilization” blinked out last week with the death of Pacific Grove’s Daniel Davis.
Dan was a genuine Polymath: a brilliant, but humble Math genius, distinguished Naval Postgraduate School Professor, ethical and successful Pacific Grove Councilman, leading edge Digital Research Programmer and Manager, MBARI Engineering Manager, Single-handed ocean-crossing Sailor, Accordion aficionado, graceful Ballroom dancer and a great friend to many.
He was a gentle man of well-thought out life principles, deep study and reflection, sharp insight into complex problems, high quality abilities in many fields, sincere public humility – but fierce in his advocacy for ideas (often quoting from Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” and Sir Thomas More), an ironic sense of humor, and an ability to expound for hours on many subjects dear to his heart – and never say anything trivial.
Dan was perhaps known most widely locally as a Pacific Grove City Council member and a graceful classic ballroom dancer. However, he conducted important acts on the world dance-floor to make ours a notably better world.
Computer Wizard
Dan was a close friend of Digital Research founder Gary Kildall and one of the earliest employees. They both taught at the US Navy’s Postgraduate School in Monterey. With Gary he co-developed the PL1-80 Compiler which was the “first high level programming language for microprocessor based computers” and the original implementation language for CP/M – which evolved into Microsoft’s DOS and Windows.
Engineering Magician
Dan’s decades long friendship with David Packard co-founder of Hewlett-Packard, led to his efforts as a Senior Researcher and sparkplug of MBARI’s exciting, groundbreaking and world renowned Underwater Vehicle engineering. He was informally known as MBARI’s Socratic Gadfly.
Math Genius (the Davis Data Minimization Method)
Dan spent more than a decade developing a landmark method and algorithm to minimize the number and position of data points needed to provide credible data accuracy for scientific conclusions. His method is general and can be applied to many environmental studies – sampling data in oceans, atmosphere, land and even in space. His unofficial appointment was as a “Socratic Gadfly.”
When he was happy with his method handling sampling in 1-dimension he had it published with Catherine Goyet (of University of Perpignan, France), in a book with an application to oceanography.(1) He then went on developing and improving his algorithms to handling sampling in other (2,3, …, and n) dimensions. These results will be published in another book in 2025. In my opinion his work is a landmark in the history of science. I believe Dan’s algorithms will be utilized, adulated and revered for generations to come.
I find it laudable how Dan first developed his Data Minimization as a limited 1-dimensional case, then expanded it for general use in a similar manner with how Einstein first developed his limited “Special Relativity” and later “General Relativity.”
Dan published 24 academic papers which are cited hundreds of times.
Sailor
Dan single-handedly and competently sailed a small sailboat from Hawaii to Monterey. He was easily capable of preparing a boat for such a daunting voyage. While underway he made repairs to sails, engine and electronics – and completed the trip with no disasters, although he was nearly washed overboard in a storm when his boat turned completely over.
Dancer
Any given Saturday evening you might find Dan dancing the night away at Chautauqua Hall to classical music. Many women partners considered his smooth formal ballroom dancing style notably gracefully elegant.
Councilman, Pacific Grove
As a Councilman he wasted no time after his most recent appointment. On the very next agenda item he carefully and patiently led the Council through a dozen principles to adopting a landmark “Civil Bribery” law a new and powerful way to stop votes for dollars. Previously when Dan served 8 years on Pacific Grove’s Planning Commission he was instrumental in leading that body to enforce building laws in Pacific Grove designed to protect our environment and our town character.
Dan is survived by his two children: Rachel and her (adorable) children, son Graham, and some of his five former wives.
Scintillating Susan Nilmier arranged a wonderful memorial on February 22, 2025 afternoon at Center for Spiritual Awakening in Pacific Grove.
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A good ol-Southern boy, Dan loved to host black-eyed peas parties at his home on New Year’s Day . . .along with collard greens and corn bread.
In his late career, Dan Davis enjoyed a decade-long intellectual friendship including much humorous repartee with renowned Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. David Craig Wright, the Pacific Grove based physician who oversaw Dan’s care and whose treatments greatly extended Dan’s life expectancy.
A few more memories have surfaced about Dan that I would like to share.
First, did you know that Dan played the accordion ?!
Second, I learned so much from Dan’s expertise as a local political strategist and activist, especially revolving around issues of transparency in government.
Third, Dan had been an early follower of the teachings of George Gurdjieff (1867-1949), the Greek-American philosopher, mystic, spiritual teacher, composer, and movements teacher who believed that most humans are not conscious of themselves and thus live their lives in a state of hypnotic “waking sleep,” unless they awaken to a higher state of consciousness and discover their true purpose on earth.
I will always value our long, late night phone conversations about all of these things, and more.
Dan once brought to my attention how Pebble Beach Company’s Spanish Bay approval in the 1970s, required them to close the dirt paved “Haul Road” on Highway 68 (Holman Highway) near Pacific Grove.
Yet we both knew huge Pebble Beach Company Semi-Trucks & Dump Trucks continued using it daily – some 20 years after the approval.
Dan inspired me to make that a project, so I regularly reminded the Coastal Commission at their annual meetings in Monterey of Pebble Beach company’s 20 year ongoing Violation.
That effort finally bore fruit when their “Lot Program” (Clint Eastwood’s Chainsaw Massacre) was approaching a hearing in 2006. They finally closed the road and it has been closed ever since.
Dan & I shared a happy celebration for that victory.
(Pebble Beach Company still have not dug up the road as they are required to do)