I thought it was obvious that a fingerprint allows you to verify that you have the correct public key via some alternative channel. So I read the article to fin

I thought it was obvious that a fingerprint allows you to verify that you have the correct public key via some alternative channel. So I read the article to find out why I was wrong; perhaps the article detailed an obscure wetware hole in the verification process, or maybe a dramtically better way of verifying public keys. Nope: the article was a straight answer to the question in the title. Oh, well: it was short and to the point.