It's like someone saying they "have three brothers and sisters".
Is that a total of six siblings or three? Do they have two brothers and one sister, or two sisters and one brother?

As a result we can read the OP's sentence as


Find ten apples [and oranges] = 20 pieces of fruit (ten oranges being implied)
Find ten [apples and oranges] = 10: any combination of the two types of fruit.


Possible variations which would avoid this ambiguity:


  Find ten of each fruit: apples and oranges. (20)
  Find ten apples and ten oranges. (20)
  Find ten apples or ten oranges. (10)
  Find ten fruit which are apples and oranges. (10)


"Find ten apples and oranges" Do I find 10 or 20?
I have recently been involved in managing a special issue in a scientific journal. The chief-editor was somehow appreciative of my work and now wants me to join the journal's board as a copyeditor. I am puzzled by this request since I have no example of an academic being involved in such a task. Usually, being an editor (see Why become a journal editor?) involves more content evaluation.

Would my academic career take advantage of such a duty?
