Final answer:
The shifting racial categories as explained by Tyson point to the 'social construction' of race, reflecting social perceptions rather than biological reality.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to Tyson, the shifting categories of racial categories indicate that race does not reflect biological reality, but instead reflects different definitions at different times. This concept is referred to as the social construction of race. This school of thought, endorsed by social science organizations such as the American Association of Anthropologists, the American Sociological Association, and the American Psychological Association, maintains that race is not biologically identifiable and that the traditional biological categories of race are based on pseudoscience; these categories have been used historically to justify racist practices.
Historical notions that connected race with intelligence, such as those expressed in 'The Bell Curve,' have been substantially refuted, illustrating that perceived lower IQs in certain racial groups were more about access to resources like education than innate abilities. The social construction of race is a persistent part of our social reality, affecting how we perceive identity and group dynamics despite its lack of basis in biological fact.