I was also inspired by one of Dawkins' books suggesting something similar. It was some years ago but I believe Dawkins suggested writing a type of computer script which would mimic natural selection. I wrote a script and was quite surprised at the power it demonstrated.

As I remember the general idea is that you can type in any string of characters you like and then click the 'evolve' button. The computer program then:

1) generates and displays a string of random characters of the same length as the entered string.

2) compares the new string with the displayed string and retains all characters that are the same and in the same position.

3) generates random characters in the string where they did not match in 2 and displays the full string.

4) If the string in 3 matches the string entered by the computer the program stops otherwise it goes to step 2.

The rapidity with which this program converges on the one entered it quite surprising.

This simulation is somewhat different from natural selection especially in that the selection rules are hard coded but I think it does demonstrate the power of random changes to converge when there is strong selection pressure.

A fascinating aid in demonstrating natural selection was built by Darwin's cousin Francis Galton in 1877. A illustration and description can be found here. The amazing thing about this device is that, as described in the article, it has been re-discovered and re-purpose to illustrate the process of Bayesian inference.

I have come to consider this isomorphism between Bayesian inference and natural selection or Darwinian processes in general as a deep insight into the workings of nature. I view natural selection as a method of physically performing Bayesian inference, specifically as a method for inferring means for reproductive success. My paper on this subject may be found here