Which is the correct way to compare two values or quantities? Apart from 'greater than', or 'lower than', could you say something like '1 is close to 2, but far from 9'?
For quantities, you really need to compare them from a more relative view. I think it is incorrect to say "x is close to y" and "z is far from y". You need a point of reference when discussing distance, so saying "x is closer to y than z" is correct. Of course, you can define what it is to be "close". If you say "x is close to y if |x - y| < epsilon" for some epsilon, then it could work out, but otherwise it is meaningless.