Theta is a well-known parameter in the Barnes-Hut algorithm which this simulation uses. It isn't a magic constant and is well-defined. Read: http://en.wikipedi

Theta is a well-known parameter in the Barnes-Hut algorithm which this simulation uses. It isn't a magic constant and is well-defined. Read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnes–Hut_simulation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnes–Hut_simulation , look for the theta symbol. The only thing you can really knock this implementation is not explaining the definition of theta, but you can't much do that without a writeup of how the Barnes-Hut simulation works. I think "higher = faster, less accurate" is just fine for a demo's purpose.