It has been about 40 years since the first microprocessors appeared. Prior to that, computers were assembled from integrated circuits and prior to that discrete transistors, and reaching even further back in time vacuum tubes were the heart of the processor.
That conceptual architecture of computers has not changed in that time. Combine electronic switches to create a NAND gate, connect a few NAND gates to allow Boolean processing, and you have the building blocks for a computer. String a lot of these things together and you can create anything from a smart thermostat to a super-computer.
Microprocessors provide us with the ability to create devices with large numbers of switches (processing power) in a small space—as we have been made well aware of via Moore's Law. The ubiquity of devices with microprocessors has muddied the distinction between computers and personal electronic devices.
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