I’m so confused

I’m sorry if this is annoying, but I am trying to learn about crypto and I don’t understand Eth or the other cryptos. I understand the concept, but what special purpose does coding something in solidity, somehow pricing the code (I still don’t get this part) and then validating it make any sense? I saw an example that’s like “instead of using Uber, u can use smart contracts” but in what way is that faster or easier? Why isn’t simply using Uber viable? What does ethereum and the spin-offs solve?