When I bought my house, my grass was a mess of thatch and weeds. My neighbors all thought I was insane letting it grow so tall every year before mowing, and for not hacking it down to the dirt like they do. The first few years I would let it overseed itself. Didn't take long to produce a healthy lawn with minimal effort. Now my neighbors tend to follow my lead on grass height. Their yards are coming in nicely, too.
The key isn't infrequent mowing, it's letting the grass grow tall, especially in the spring, before bringing it down. I mow just as often as others, just not as short. The article nicely lays out the reasons why one would do this.
Nature doesn't need hacking. It needs to be understood. Learn about the root systems of grass, and that stuff on top everyone seems to care about is simple.