To start with, get some books.
Dickason's The Loudspeaker Design Cookbook is a comprehensive start.
Someone recommended to me Robert M. Bullock's Bullock on Boxes, which is a deeper and more technical exploration of enclosures from the perspective of mathematics.
There are probably other books worth mentioning, but these two go a long way to explain the groundwork to the science.
Enclosure design demands a sound basics in math. Calculus isn't really required, but if you have had a course or two it will make grasping some of the finer points easier. Nothing here is quantum physics, but the design and construction of enclosures has moved out of the realm of art and soundly into science over the last 30 to 40 years.
Any preconceived notions you may hold going into this will most likely be changing significantly as you delve deeper into the subject. This demands that you keep an open mind about the subject and be prepared to change your mind on what you believe is the right path.
I found this to be very true for my journey to date. I started as a newbie, like you, and now have progressed well into the stage where I have a much deeper grasp of the huge volume of information that I do not know!
In other words, I have come a long way and it is painfully clearer that the road ahead is much longer than initially perceived. Your journey will be, no doubt, very similar.
Good luck!
Loren
