I really like Vonnegut and the 8 stories idea is nice, but I’m not convinced that he has covered all of the bases here, at least not according to the summary infographic. Two of the shapes (‘Man in Hole’ and ‘Boy meets Girl’) are actually the same. ‘New Testament’ and ‘Cinderalla’ also have the same shape (good-things-bad-things-good-things) but are step functions rather than smooth curves. The exception shape (‘which way is up’) I parse as ‘It’s complicated’ and is a repeated set of ups and downs.
Perhaps, at this level of shape, it’s a bit like saying that all software is just a variation on CRUD.
You should actually watch his lecture on this. It resembles a a comedy routine far more than something that would be ‘covering all the bases’. The stories that are similar, are in fact presented that way and the punch line to jokes. You are definitely right about the “it’s complicated” part and this ends up being the main thesis of the whole speech he is giving. Which is: that real life is complicated so which way is up?
The diagram is secondhand, but Man in Hole and Boy Meets Girl are not at all the same. BMG has a neutral status quo with a big lift at the beginning when they meet. MIH starts out living large, then loses it all.
Perhaps, at this level of shape, it’s a bit like saying that all software is just a variation on CRUD.