The paper deals with the problems of a person’s generic identity, which in the system of modern education are transformed into insufficient understanding and lack of education. The close connection of these problems with the scale of understanding is shown, which is revealed with the help of the concepts of depth and width of the scale. A typology of cultures is proposed as a context for the educational process, which contributes to the growth of the scale of understanding, covering both the past (group, local, mass, global cultures) and the future (total and subjective cultures).