[dch]

See, you are confirming everything I have said -- Each ray of light itself, is neither HARD or SOFT. It's the combination. And the only way you can have rays of light coming in from the sides, etc. like your diagram above, is for it to be LARGER than the subject. Sticking a diffuser on the end of a flash, like a lightsphere or omni-bounce will not change how the light hits your subject. It would hit your subject just like your Hard Light example, however other rays of light would be spreading out in all other directions -- which, will not ever reach your subject (unless of course you are indoors and those other rays will bounce off of walls, etc.).