Yes, it's time to ask some inane layperson's questions again... :-)

I'm now wondering how gravitational lensing can conspire to (apparently)
_not_ be unidirectional.

E.g., in the case of "Einstein's cross" four images of a distant quasar
appears, singling out those four directions, as opposed to a smeared-out
circle of light around the object doing the lensing.

--
A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is it such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in e-mail?