Versus, I was going to comment the same thing until I finished reading. I think it was somewhat poor wording of the article, more than conflicting advice.

I think he chose an unattainable number because it will drive you to lift faster and more explosively to try and get them in. IOW, speedwork. Who knows. Mental games. A lot of people countdown and this may help you to stop that. If you're aiming for twelve reps and you hit ten thinking "just two more" it'll not help you to get further than those two. Absent such thoughts, you may just push further. Anyone who thinks that your thoughts don't factor in to your performance is just full of ****.