Utility measurement itself may also be questioned as an approach. Is it possible, or indeed appropriate, to try and quantify something which is so subjective and emotional (Tavakoli et al 2000)? As we saw earlier, utility values depend on the method by which they are measured and are subject to framing. Asking individuals to evaluate a health state of which they have no experience, and might not be able to understand (Dowding & Thompson 2002), is not only counterintuitive but also fundamentally flawed.