If you DON'T split them you will have a total of 16, and assuming the count is zero, you'll have to hit.
You will:
lose: 73.9%
win: 20.1%
push: 6.0%
This works out to a negative expectation of 53.8%.
If you SPLIT them, you will have to play TWO hands, starting with a total of 8.
For EACH hand, you will:
lose: 56.1%
win: 33.4%
push: 10.5%
Your negative expectation is NOW 22.7%. Because you're playing two hands and risking twice the money, this has to be doubled, resulting in a TOTAL negative EV of 45.4%. As you can see, this results in an average loss per hand of 8.4% less than if you hadn't split.
So in answer to your question - Yes; the first person who figured this out DID take into account the fact of risking twice the money.