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In other words, a second-born kid can be more/ as intelligent as long as the child is raised as the eldest. Genetic influence is negligible.

2) The eldest child is more intelligent because:
(i) More attention is spent on the first-born child. As the family size grows, less attention is available for the younger children
(ii) The first-born child receives undivided social and intellectual stimulation from parents.
(iii) As the eldest, the first-born tend to identify themselves with adults, which in turn strengthens their vocabulary and reasoning abilities.
(iv) As proposed by psychologist Robert Zajonc, older siblings are exposed to more opportunities to consolidate and organize their knowledge in their natural roles as tutors to juniors. i.e. They benefit as leaders and teachers.

In other words, younger siblings can be nurtured and become equally intelligent as long as they are endowed with equivalent resources e.g. stimulation, responsibilities and opportunities, etc, as suggested above.

3) IQ (Intelligence Quotient) scores only reflects certain intellectual abilities of the person. According to the psychological and educational theory of Multiple Intelligences put forth by psychologist Howard Gardner, intelligence is not a general capacity of abilities but comprises of 6 separate systems, namely:

Linguistic Intelligence, Logical-Mathematical Intelligence, Spatial Intelligence, Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence, Musical Intelligence, Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Intelligence.

(Click here to learn more about Multiple Intelligence in WIKIPEDIA)

In fact, although elder children tend to accomplish more in academics (Linguistic Intelligence & Logical-Mathematical Intelligence), younger siblings tend to develop other abilities like Musical Intelligence and Inter/ Intrapersonal Intelligence better.

4) Studies find that younger siblings are more likely to participate in dangerous sports, travel to exotic places and are less conventional. Firstborns have won more Nobel Prizes in science but often by advancing current understanding rather than overturning it.
(Reference: Family Dynamics, not biology, behind higher IQ –by Benedict Carey) (LINK)

Alarming – Stereotypes & The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Do you think of yourself as a rational person?

For example, if you believe in the birth order effect on intelligence,you may tend to form prejudgments on the intellectual abilities of people you don’t know well based on their birth-positions.

For example, when a first-born gets good grades, we may think, "Very well, the first-born child is talented BECAUSE he’s the first-born." BUT when the younger one similarly obtains good grades, we may not draw the same conclusion and attribute success to birth-order, simply because it doesn’t fit the pattern we have already subscribed to = self fulfilling prophecy”.

In his book Social Theory and Social Structure, sociologist Merton introduces to us the self-fulfilling prophecy: “The self-fulfilling prophecy is, in the beginning, a false definition of the situation evoking a new behavior which makes the original false conception come ‘true’ This specious validity of the self-fulfilling prophecy perpetuates a reign of error. For the prophet will cite the actual course of events as proof that he was right from the very beginning.”

For example, you are told that the youngest kid is the least intelligent and thus, you predict that you will not be as brilliant as your elder brother. Subsequently, you are excessively preoccupied with personal deficiencies. Since you expect yourself to be weaker anyway, you automatically exert less effort on tasks. Finally, your performance really turns out to be weaker.

Don’t underestimate the power of self-fulfilling prophecies…

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